The Whatcom County Medical Examiner’s Office in Washington confirmed in a statement that Kailia Posey died from a ligature hanging by suicide.
Statement Regarding Recent Case
“The Whatcom County Medical Examiner’s Office has completed an examination on a 16-year-old female. Her identity will not be released here out of respect for the family. The female was found deceased on May 2, 2022 in Blaine, Washington. The cause of death is asphyxia due to ligature hanging and the manner is suicide. For further details, please refer to the Washington State Patrol. The autopsy and toxicology reports are not public information.”
Posey’s mother, Marcy Posey Gatterman, posted about her daughter’s death on Facebook last week.
“I don’t have words or any thoughts,” she wrote. “A beautiful baby girl is gone. Please give us privacy as we mourn the loss of Kailia. My baby forever.”
Days after her death, Posey’s family shared a statement with TMZ confirming that she had died by suicide.
Posey’s last competition before her death was in the Miss Washington Teen USA pageant in February, where she placed second runner-up and also earned the Miss Photogenic award based on public votes.
Maureen Francisco, the executive producer of NW Productions, LLC, worked with Posey at the Miss Washington competition earlier this year and was shocked by Kailia’s death.
“When I first saw the post that her mom posted about Kailia, I was in shock, I didn’t believe it,” Francisco said. “At first, I thought maybe her mother’s Facebook got hacked, so I had to wait. I realized it wasn’t going away, that this is actually real. That’s when it really hit me — like wow. –Fox News
Since Posey died at age 16 earlier this month, the community rallied around the family in the wake of their loss, launching a GoFundMe campaign that has since surpassed its $15,000 goal, to help them cover funeral costs.
The friends and family of the Toddlers & Tiaras star came together on May 14 to honor the late 16-year-old who took her own life earlier this month.
A special celebration of life event was held at North County Christ the King Church in Lynden, Washington, and was live-streamed on the church’s website. A large crowd, including more than 700 virtual attendees, gathered to share photos, videos, and personal stories of the teen.
People reported that Kailia’s brother Jayden Kai held back tears as he recalled memories of rooting on his sister at her beauty pageants, just like she did at his own football games, saying, “I just wanted her to know that she had someone and I was always there for her”
In her last Instagram post on April 23, Posey is seen wearing a red two-piece outfit, captioned: “None of your concern :)”
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