Shantay Leann Huntington finally got her prom dress.
It is light pink, with sequins and rosebuds delicately sewn onto the shimmery fabric; a matching, sheer pink scarf will cover her arms.
“I don’t know if it’ll be an open or closed casket,” her mother, Margaret Leyba, said as she picked out the dress Wednesday at Aurora Mall. “It doesn’t matter. She’ll look pretty any way.”
Huntington’s body was found May 23 wrapped in a sheet in a wooded lot in Loxahatchee, Fla. – 17 miles west of Palm Beach – less than a month after moving to Miami with a new boyfriend.
The 18-year-old Aurora woman was identified this week, confirming fears the family harbored for weeks.
Palm Beach County authorities said Wednesday that they already have several people of interest in the homicide investigation and that Huntington’s 29-year-old boyfriend, Tyree Banks, is assisting detectives.
Authorities declined to say whether Banks, who has a lengthy arrest record, is a suspect. Banks could not be reached for comment.
“We’re still trying to do a rundown of events and find out when people last saw her,” said Palm Beach sheriff’s Detective Robert Bennett.
Leyba said she pleaded with her daughter to stay in Colorado, but Shantay had plans. After dropping out of Overland High School before she could even attend prom, her mother said, Shantay wanted to start anew in Miami and study to become a hairdresser.
“I couldn’t stop her,” Leyba, 44, said. “She was so excited.”
Though Shantay called frequently to update her mother and two brothers, the messages abruptly stopped last month.
Shantay’s family repeatedly tried to contact her, then in desperation, posted a message on the online bulletin board Craigslist asking if anyone had seen her. They later flew to Miami and handed out fliers.
A message was in the family’s inbox when they returned: A woman’s body was found north of Miami, with a blue and silver belly ring and a butterfly tattoo on the back, just like Shantay.
“I knew it was her,” Leyba said. “It’s been hard ever since.”
A funeral is scheduled for Saturday, though the time and place have yet to be determined.
Maybe Shantay’s journey to Miami would have put her on a path to success, her mother wondered. Certainly, she said, it was a new beginning.
Now, Leyba is the one starting over.
Staff writer Robert Sanchez can be reached at 303-820-1282 or rsanchez@denverpost.com.
