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Prom-date rejection investigated in school stabbing of teen remembered as 'bright light'

Associated Press
Published | Updated

A rock spray-painted by students sits in memory of 16-year-old stabbing victim Maren Sanchez on Friday, April 25, 2014, sits outside Jonathan Law High School in Milford, Conn. Sanchez was stabbed to death earlier during an altercation inside the school. A teenage boy is in custody, and police are investigating whether she was stabbed because she declined to be his date at the junior prom. (AP Photo/The New Haven Register, Peter Hvizdak) MANDATORY CREDIT (The Associated Press)

Police remain on scene at Jonathan Law High School after a 16-year-old girl was stabbed to death in Milford, Conn., Friday, April 25, 2014. A teenage boy is in custody, and police are investigating whether the attack stemmed from her turning down an invitation to be his prom date. (AP Photo/The New Haven Register, Peter Hvizdak) MANDATORY CREDIT (The Associated Press)

Milford Police Chief Keith Mello, right, listens as Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Feser speals during a news conference at Jonathan Law High School in Milford, Conn., Friday, April 25, 2014. Authorities have confirmed that Maren Sanchez, 16, was stabbed to death Friday. A teenage boy is in custody, and police are investigating whether the attack stemmed from her turning down an invitation to be his prom date. (AP Photo/The Connecticut Post, Ned Gerard) MANDATORY CREDIT (The Associated Press)

The family of a teenager stabbed to death inside her Connecticut high school says she will be remembered as a "bright light full of hopes and dreams."

Family members and friends at the Jonathan Law High School in Milford were left reeling from the attack on Maren Sanchez, an outgoing girl who belonged to the National Honor Society, played guitar and was active in drama and other school activities.

Sanchez had been looking forward to a junior prom that she helped to plan before she was killed. Police are investigating whether she was stabbed after turning down an invitation to the prom from a 16-year-old boy now charged with her murder.

The suspect was charged as a juvenile offender but could be charged later as an adult.