March 29, 2024

Photo Credit: Newsday

16 minutes. A quick sixteen-minute drive to the town of Brentwood. Sixteen minutes to the town that two teenage girls were murdered in. On Tuesday evening, Nisa Mickens and Kayla Cuevas were victims of a possible gang-related gun attack.  Cuevas and Mickens were both originally bonded over basketball and during their inseparable friendship, worked to rise above the gang and drug epidemic that was plaguing their community. Both girls were last seen leaving Cueva’s house on Tuesday evening, yet no one knew where they were headed. Even though Cuevas and Mickens left the house together, their battered bodies were reported in several different locations. Nisa Mickens was discovered near Loretta Park Elementary School, while her best friend Kayla Cuevas was revealed in a wooded area behind a home. Both girls were enrolled in the local Ross High school in the Brentwood District and died of blunt force trauma. Cuevas and Mickens suffered significant injuries to the head and face and were found with severe cuts on their bodies. Officials state that the monster who murdered the girls must have had no regard for human life due to the degree of injuries. No arrests have been made for the gruesome murders of 15-year-old Nisa Mickens and 16-year-old Kayla Cuevas. Brentwood is sixteen minutes away from Dix Hills; sixteen minutes away from tragedy.