A fourteen-year-old Tiktok user is making mainstream news for the murder of her disabled sister. Claire Miller is a fourteen-year-old from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. On her Tiktok @spiritsandsuchconsulting she posted about anime, fan fiction, and copied viral TikTok challenges. She also showed some insight into her family life.
Before her Tik Tok was taken down by law enforcement, Claire had videos showing her laughing with her father and him dancing with joy being with his children, her sister in the background. Comments mentioned how tragic it is to see a victim’s family so cheerful knowing they are now in inconsolable despair.
This case is particularly fascinating because the public was able to see videos of the killer’s personality. It reminds us how a digital footprint is able to be perceived so differently in a tragedy. Her account was removed for “violating community guidelines”, but onlookers have created backup accounts of her screen-recorded videos.
The victim was Claire’s nineteen-year-old sister Helen. Helen suffered from cerebral palsy, which her family confirmed. Helen also was in a wheelchair and frequently under hospital care. She died by a stab wound in the early morning hours of February 22nd. A knife was found in Helen’s chest.
Claire called 9-1-1 hysterically explaining “I just killed my sister”. Furthermore, she want to TikTok and also voiced she had killed her sister while she was sleeping.
When police arrived, Claire was wearing bloody clothes and was trying clean the blood off her hands in the snow. Despite being a minor, Claire is currently facing adult charges due to Pennsylvania’s juvenile homicide laws. Her attorney can attempt to have her moved to the juvenile system, but that comes down to the judge’s orders.
Due to her homicide charge, Claire is being denied bail. She is currently in a female housing unit within Lancaster County Prison. She is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on March 30, 2021.
