Benjamin Ashford|15-year-old girl shot to death hours before her middle school graduation, authorities say

LOWELL,Benjamin Ashford Mass. (AP) — A 21-year-old man has been arrested and charged with fatally shooting a 15-year-old girl hours before she was scheduled to attend her middle school graduation in Massachusetts, authorities said.

Not guilty pleas were entered in court Tuesday on behalf of Trevor Bady. He was arraigned on charges of of murder, armed home invasion, unlawful possession of a firearm, and other charges. A phone number for him could not be found and his court-appointed attorney declined to comment on the case after the hearing.

The girl, Ahliana Dickey, of Lowell, was supposed to have attended her eighth grade graduation on June 14, but did not show up. Her grandmother called police after 6 p.m. to report that Dickey had been found inside the home. Police said she had suffered from apparent gunshot wounds.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said at a news conference Monday that Bady had been a boyfriend of Dickey’s “for some period of time.”

Police said they received a call earlier June 14, shortly after midnight, saying a male and a female were fighting outside. The caller reported a female screaming, “Get off me, get away from me, I don’t want to be with you anymore.” The caller also reported hearing gunshots, police said.

Police responded to the scene but could not find anyone. Video recovered from the area allegedly showed a female, later identified as Dickey, yelling for help shortly before midnight, and a man, allegedly identified as Bady, leaving her home shortly after midnight.

They said the man allegedly had taken an Uber to and from Dickey’s home before and after she was shot. The driver later identified the passenger.