A witness who reportedly asked not to be identified has informed a local media outlet that he saw slain 19-year-old model Bridget Shiel hanging out at a pool with a female friend and two children, and he saw her buying the children ice cream and sodas.
“She was having a merry day with her family…It’s crazy because when we got back home after we left the park, we turned to the news and I said, ‘Oh, we saw that lady!’ It’s sad that something like that could really happen.” the man told CBS46. “We were seeing her back and forth in the pool and walking around with her friend. The bottom line is she was enjoying herself like everybody out here”.
On Wednesday, her car was found ditched behind a cell phone tower in Stone Mountain, Georgia.
Police said the discovery of her car is a very important piece of evidence and they’re currently testing it for DNA and fingerprints. Investigators initially presumed the young lady was killed at another location and her body dumped at Oakland City Park, but this latest revelation by the witness challenges that assumption based on information gathered at the scene.
“There was no blood or physical evidence that would suggest that something happened to someone,” said owner of the King’s Southern Delight restaurant, Clem Graham.
Meanwhile, all the victim’s mother can do is imagine what her daughter’s last moments must have been like.
“That’s the worst part of all this. How she felt during this time when she was running away,” said Angela Shiel, “She wanted to be a model. She was into fashion. She had a lot of friends. She was the type of girl who could go out and not know anyone, and walk away and everybody would be her friend…I don’t think I can go past this point of grieving until someone’s been found”.
The victim reportedly released a Snapchat video showing she was alive 8 hours and 23 minutes before her body was found. The case has sent shockwaves internationally, as Shiel was prominently featured in a recent music video filmed in Atlanta with recording artist Criss Waddle, of Ghana, where Shiel is perceived as an Amber Rose lookalike.
“We became friends after the video shoot. To get a video done in America professionally, you would have to get to some agencies. We were in contact with one guy called Mayor. When we requested for girls, he sent me pictures of hundred girls and I had to choose. She was among those I wanted for the video,” Waddle said in a recent interview.
Ironically, the title of the song for which Shiel was in the video, “Bie Gya,” translates to “Open Fire.”
Upon hearing the news of her death, Waddle posted a picture of Bridget on Facebook with the caption, “Oh My God RiP Bridget,life is too short, why would anyone shoot a 19 year old model who was full of happiness everyday of her life and left naked in a park?? She was in Biegya Video #AMGSADNESS #LifeisTooShort #RiPBridget”
Comments on some media outlets are speculating the post was made to promote the music video.
Atlanta police said this case is taking top priority with their detectives and they urge anyone with information to call crime stoppers at (404) 577-TIPS.
