Murdered Washington teens, both 16, found along highway in connected killings: report

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Two teenagers were found dead within a half mile of each other along Interstate 5 in what Washington State Patrol said are connected killings, Fox 13 reported.

The victims – both 16-year-old boys – were hidden behind a high, concrete wall and dense forest along the busy Seattle highway, according to law enforcement. 

The first victim’s body was in a ditch near North 85th Street and I-5 that caught the eye of a passerby Thursday night, and the second victim was spotted about 12 hours later, around 8 a.m. local time Friday. 

Both teenagers died from gunshot wounds, police said.

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Washington State Patrol said the deaths of two 16-year-olds are connected. (Washington State Patrol)

The victims were identified as Jahaz S. Phillips and Myion Coleman.

What preceded the teens’ homicides and when and where they were actually killed is still under investigation, police said, and police have not elaborated on how the two cases are connected.

Fox News Digital reached out to Washington State Patrol for more details, but police didn’t immediately respond. 

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Trooper Rick Johnson told local news outlet King 5 on Sunday the WSP determined the deaths were related after interviewing the victims’ families, but didn’t elaborate. 

Fox News 13 Seattle confirmed the cases are connected, but didn’t say how. 

“There are really high concrete retaining walls and there is a lot of greenery. You basically have to be on the ramp to see what’s going on,” a nearby resident told a local news station.   (Google Street View)

“The younger it is, the more heartbreaking it is for sure,” Jake Rower, a neighbor who lives near the stretch of I-5 where the bodies were found, told Fox 13 Seattle.

“This is the most extreme thing I’ve heard happening around here anyway.”

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There’s a large wall and trees blocking the area of I-5 where the victims were spotted, according to the local news outlet. 

“There are really high concrete retaining walls and there is a lot of greenery. You basically have to be on the ramp to see what’s going on,” Rower said. 

Two teenagers’ bodies were found less than a mile apart on I-5 in Seattle near the ramp to the freeway, according to Washington State Police. (Google Maps)

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Originally, it was thought the teens were hit by a car, but autopsies confirmed they were killed by gunshot wounds.

Chris Eberhart is a crime and US news reporter for Fox News Digital. Email tips to chris.eberhart@fox.com or on Twitter @ChrisEberhart48.