Teen suspect arrested after cheerleader found dead in woods

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A Tennessee cheerleader, 13, was allegedly stabbed to death by a 15-year-old with a pocket knife and left alongside a dirt road. Now, prosecutors hope to try him as an adult in court.

Savannah Copeland met with the 15-year-old around midnight Oct. 22, when he allegedly attacked her and fled, according to a petition released by Knox County court Oct. 24. It is unclear how the two teens might have known each other. 

Michael Copeland, the victim’s father, told 8WVLT his daughter had been missing in Powell for several hours before he tracked her using her cellphone information and found her body.

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Savannah Copeland, 13, was found stabbed to death along a dirt road in Knox County, Tenn., Oct. 22. (Family handout)

The 15-year-old was arrested soon after the stabbing and charged with second-degree murder, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office said. 

A judge allowed the release of the teen’s name despite his age two days later and scheduled a Jan. 14 hearing on whether the juvenile suspect should be tried as an adult, 6 News reported. Fox News Digital is not naming the suspect until it is determined if he will be charged as an adult.  

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Savannah Copeland was a cheerleader and also practiced karate and gymnastics, her family wrote in her obituary. (Powell MAC Cheerleading/Facebook)

Fox News Digital could not reach the suspect’s attorney for comment at press time.

Copeland was not named in the department’s statement, but she was identified in a GoFundMe set up by her family, an online obituary, her cheerleading team and several news outlets that spoke with her family.

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Police arrested a 15-year-old in Savannah Copeland’s death and charged him with second-degree murder (Powell MAC Cheerleading/Facebook)

“I think it was a lack of compassion and a lack of empathy that drove the hand that took my daughter’s life,” the victim’s father told 8 WVLT. 

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Copeland, a cheerleader with Powell Mac Cheerleading, was a talented student who also excelled in karate and gymnastics, her family wrote in her obituary. Her father told 8WVLT the teen had “spunkiness, eagerness and … a go-getter attitude.”

Christina Coulter is a U.S. and World reporter for Fox News Digital. Email story tips to christina.coulter@fox.com.