Kailia Posey, a star of Toddlers & Tiaras who committed suicide last week just days before her 16th birthday and prom, was strangled, according to authorities.
On May 2, the Whatcom County Medical Examiner announced that Ana de la Reguera died from asphyxia caused by ligature strangulation in her automobile at Birch Bay State Park.
When a constricting band is applied to the neck by pressure other than body weight, it is known as ligature strangulation. When the gravitational weight of the body is used to tighten the band, it’s known as hanging.
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office said that while the autopsy and toxicology reports would not be released to the public to protect the victim’s privacy, they would be “extremely distressing” to her family.
“Although she was an accomplished teenager with a bright future ahead of her, unfortunately in one impetuous moment, she made the rash decision to end her earthly life,” according to a recent statement from the family.
Posey has appeared on Toddlers & Tiaras, a TLC program that followed the families of children who competed in beauty pageants for seven seasons (2009–2013).
After a video of her grinning ear to ear on the show went viral and became a popular meme, she became well-known.
On April 18, a week before her high school graduation, the honors student killed herself. She was only 16 years old. Posey had just finished her prom and celebrated her 16th birthday on April 19, shocking family and friends when she decided to commit suicide.
Kailia’s mother, Marcy Posey Gatterman, shared the news on Facebook, “I don’t have words or any thoughts. A beautiful baby girl is gone.”
On May 2, a Florida woman’s body was discovered inside her vehicle at Birch Bay State Park, a 194-acre state park along the Strait of Georgia coast with a beautiful rocky beach and extensive camping facility about nine miles from the Canadian border.
According to one of Poey’s buddies, the child star, who was a role model for many in the pageant community, had informed them she was having difficulties with her mental health but did not realize how bad it had gotten.
“We knew she was struggling with a few things, and we all did everything we could to encourage her and help,’ the friend told Page Six, speaking on the basis on anonymity. ‘We didn’t know what was going on.”
Kailia has continued to compete in pageants throughout her childhood and adolescence, most recently winning the Miss Washington Teen USA crown back in February.
Kailia Posey, who was not named the winner of February’s pageant, was given the title of Miss Lynden Teen USA for 2017.
It is thought that Posey adored the art form, having launched a separate Instagram account dedicated to it. She had previously worked with Cirque du Soleil and appeared to be enthralled by the practice.
She’s also appeared in the Netflix film Eli, where she played Agnes.
Kailia Posey was a freshman at Lynden High School in Washington, according to the school district.
She made the Dean’s List in her final year at Washington High School, according to her Miss Washington Teen profile.
Posey’s mother informed the high school last week that she had been chosen to participate on the football cheerleading squad for the upcoming season.
The teenager planned to enroll in a university and study aviation after high school.
