Southfield police investigating after college student found lying in a street dies
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - A case out of Southfield is getting more and more attention.
Mia Kanu, 23, was discovered on June 3 lying in a street. Kanu died days later. Now, police are looking into what caused her death.
"Everybody loved Mia. Everybody would always ask when she was coming home when she was at school. … she was that girl," said Mia's mother, Bianca Vanmeter.
Kanu had recently returned to the Metro Detroit area for the summer. Kanu had been studying to be a veterinarian at Tennessee State University.
Southfield police say at about 4:30 a.m. on June 3, a passerby discovered Kanu along Providence Drive in front of the Coach House apartments.
Kanu's mother says police told her daughter was ejected from a car hours before she was found.
"There were no deformities. No disfigurement. Nothing of that magnitude that at that point and time would imply any type of assault," said Jared Womble of the Southfield Police Department.
Police did confirm that she had some level of abrasions on her body when found. According to her mother, the family did see Kanu before she went out.
"She did come home after work and grabbed a pair of socks from her sister at around 11 p.m.," Vanmeter said.
Kanu spent days in the hospital. Her family donated her organs once doctors realized she did not have much brain activity. It's a move her mom says her daughter would've approved.
"Her sister and she had a conversation, and she told her when I die, I want my body donated to science," Vanmeter said.
Police say Kanu's friends that were in the car with her that night are cooperating with the investigation.
"As of now, we don't have any evidence that would suggest another vehicle struck her," Womble said.
Kanu's family is left with several questions.
"I was told nobody called 9-1-1, nobody reached out to anyone, and that speaks volumes on whoever did this," Vanmeter stated.
Police are continuing to investigate and are awaiting the results of Kanu's autopsy.
Kanu's family plans to host a celebration of life for her on June 23.
