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UPDATE: Classmates Shocked Over Teenager Found Dead In Park

ROSEMONT (CBS13) – A junior high school student was found dead early Tuesday morning at Rosemont Community Park, and the discovery shocked neighbors in the community and frightened the girl's classmates.

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department identified the victim as 13-year-old Jessica Funk-Haslam, an eighth-grader at Albert Einstein Middle School.

Jessica Funk-Haslam
Jessica Funk-Haslam

Funk-Haslam was last seen at her residence by family members at about 5:30 p.m. Monday. Sheriff's homicide detectives are trying to establish the victim's whereabouts between the time she left her residence and the time that she was discovered Tuesday morning.

According to Deputy Jason Ramos, a woman walking in the park on Americana Way discovered the body in the dugout of a softball field and called authorities around 6:30 a.m.

Investigators haven't determined how Funk-Haslam died, but they are treating it as a homicide investigation.

"That shouldn't have happened to her. She's a nice person. It's horrible," said classmate Josiah.

"It's scary to have to come to school and hear about that," another student said.

Her classmates are worried knowing Jessica's killer is still out there somewhere. They're now making sure they walk with friends.

"I don't know how the kids feel about walking home," one girl said. "It makes me feel unsafe."

"I think it's really sad," said another.

Sad because they say they have no idea who could have killed Jessica. They're also concerned because no one has come forward with information about a suspect or suspects.

"I lot of people know her, a lot of my friends," one girl said.

A neighbor whose bedroom window faces out toward the baseball field said she didn't hear anything unusual Monday night.

"It's very scary," said Monica Sample, who attended Einstein as a child. "It hits home. I think it's a good neighborhood. I just can't imagine things like this happening. It's creepy."

The Sacramento City Unified School District released the following statement:

"We are saddened and deeply troubled by the loss of a promising young student. We continue to assist the Sheriff's Office with their investigation and to provide support to the Albert Einstein school community as they struggle to cope with this horrific news.

"School officials are communicating information about this tragedy to families and staff via automated phone calls. Crisis counselors will be dispatched to the campus first thing (Wednesday) morning. Our hearts go out to this child's family and friends in their time of grief."

Rosemont Community Park covers 17 acres and has two Little League fields, a softball field, four tennis courts, a playground and picnic areas.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the Sheriff's Department at (916) 874-5115, Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP, or send a text message tip to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter SACTIP followed by the tip information.

Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

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