Women charged with homicide in case of missing teen

The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ASO) has arrested two women in connection with a missing Gainesville girl authorities now believe was murdered.

“[Investigators] searched all day yesterday and were doing some electronic searching today,” ASO spokesman Art Forgey said in a Friday phone interview. “They are still looking and hoping, but everything so far has led them to believe that they’re not looking for her alive.”

Last week the ASO reported 13-year-old Delia Young had gone missing in the early morning hours of May 15. Forgey said an ASO Facebook post reached more than 100,000 people and was shared 2,200 times—which yielded some information but not the girl’s whereabouts. 

On Wednesday ASO deputies arrested Marian G. Williams, 57, the girl’s legal guardian, and charged her for homicide, child neglect, destroying evidence and obstruction. She’s being held in the Alachua County Jail on $1 million bond. 

On Thursday deputies arrested Valerie Young, 52, the 13-year-old’s aunt, and charged her for homicide, aggravated child abuse, destroying evidence and obstruction. Friday morning a judge set Young’s bond at $2.65 million on four of the counts but set no bond on a second child abuse charge. 

“If she had $10 million sitting in the bank, she couldn’t bond out, because there’s no bond set for this second count of aggravated child abuse,” Forgey explained.

Forget said detectives continue to do “lots of interviews and lots of searching” as part of what he called a “very tenacious effort.”