Hazel Park Police have confirmed Jessica White was strangled to death in her friend’s Hazel Park home.
Twenty-three-year-old Jordan McClanahan is in custody right now, police said he will be facing felony murder charges. McClanahan was Jessica’s friend.
Investigators have confirmed she was strangled to death, but no one knows why. Her family and friends are having a hard time processing this tragedy.
"It's her 7th grade best friends necklace, I don't know how I've hung onto it all of these years, but I'm going to keep it,” said Nicole Sharf, who has been friends with Jessica since they were children.
Scharf’s hands were shaking as she told 7 Action news about her friend.
“I’ve never had another friend like Jessie,” said Scharf. "She was so sweet and Jordan is sick.”
She was at McClanahan’s home on the night of April 23, the last time anyone heard from her.
She sent a final text to her mother and her sister, it read: “Jordan’s dad is cussing him out. this is awkward.”
Family friend, Zack Brovage, thinks she was trying to reach out.
"That she was trying to ask for help and they were sleeping and it was too late,” said Brovage.
The next day, when no one heard from Jessica, family and friends passed out flyers, filed police reports and officers even did welfare checks at McClanahan’s home, several times, but nothing turned up.
"They knew something was wrong, everything was pointing back to Jordan in that house ,but we still searched off of what were told, looking, hoping that we weren't right on our hunch,” said Brovage.
Police said Jordan hid Jessica’s body in a roofline storage space and he didn't tell his other family members what happened. Which is why police say they found nothing on their welfare checks.
"We are left with questions of why,” said Brovage. "Sitting with the family last night after we found and seeing the mom and dad, they were just sitting, staring off into space, it's heart wrenching,” he said.
Jordan McClanahan is expected to arraigned and formally charged on Thursday.
There are two memorial funds set up for Jessica White, to help her family pay for funeral expenses.
A GoFundMe accountand a memorial account at Citizen’s Bank in Troy in Big Beaver, the fund is called the Jessica Leigh White Memorial Fund.
