Man allegedly fatally shot 15-year-old girlfriend right before her 8th grade graduation

LOWELL, Mass. (TCN) -- A 21-year-old man faces murder and other charges for allegedly shooting and killing his 15-year-old girlfriend the same day she was supposed to graduate from middle school.

According to the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office, Ahliana Dickey’s family waited for her to show up at her graduation ceremony on the morning of Friday, June 14, but she failed to appear. Her family became worried and started searching for her.

They returned to their residence on Lawrence Street, and at 6:10 p.m., Dickey’s grandmother contacted police to say she found the teen "certainly hurt and possibly dead" in a first-floor bedroom with apparent gunshot wounds.

Officers arrived at the home and found shell casings in the room near her body.

At around midnight on June 14, a neighbor called Lowell Police to report hearing a man and woman screaming at each other. The woman reportedly yelled, "Get off me. Get away from me. I don’t want to be with you anymore."

Then, they reportedly heard gunshots.

Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said police went to Lawrence Street, but they did not find any victims at first search.

Detectives learned Dickey was in an abusive relationship with the suspect, Trevor Bady. He reportedly previously threatened and hit her, with the most recent occurrence allegedly happening just days before Dickey was killed.

Surveillance footage reportedly showed Bady taking an Uber to Dickey’s home before the shooting and calling one after the incident. The district attorney’s office said the Uber driver "reported that he had had a suspicious passenger and expressed concern."

The driver identified the "suspicious passenger" as Bady.

Police arrested Bady on June 17 on charges of murder, armed home invasion, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, use of a firearm while committing a felony, and discharge of a firearm within 500 feet of a building.

According to WCVB-TV, Bady pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail. Assistant Middlesex County District Attorney Christopher Tarrant said in court Bady "made statements such as 'I’m going to kill you, I’m going to kill your grandma.' He was going to shoot up her house. He threatened to kidnap her and shoot her."

Her grandmother Tracy Smith told WCVB, "It’s not fair to her. She had a lot of plans in life."

Dickey turned 15 years old on April 18.