GUILTY MI - McKenna Hilton, 18, murdered, Grand Rapids, 18 Aug 2016

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A 16-year-old boy is being held in juvenile detention in connection with the death of a recent East Kentwood High School graduate, whose body was found Thursday on a trail near Emerald Lake in Grand Rapids Township.

The teen, Savon Eugene Schmus, knew 18-year-old McKenna Elizabeth Hilton, Kent County Undersheriff Michelle Young said Friday. The teens were friends on Facebook.

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During a brief hearing Friday before a Kent County court referee, Kent County Assistant Prosecutor Vicki Seidl asked that the teen be held for five days while the investigation continues.

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A 16-year-old boy will be charged as an adult for the murder of an 18-year-old girl.

Kent County Assistant Prosecutor Chris Becker tells FOX 17 that a warrant for Open Murder has been authorized for Savon Schmus in the death of McKenna Hilton.

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Becker tells FOX 17 that Schmus and Hilton were half-siblings.

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Savon Schmus, 16, was charged as an adult with open murder in the death of 18-year-old McKenna Hilton. A judge on Tuesday said a forensic report found Schmus competent to face trial on the murder charges.

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Hilton's family described her as a beautiful young woman with a free spirit and love for people overlooked by others. They wore shirts with her picture on them, and held enlarged photos as they watched her half-brother plead guilty to first-degree premeditated murder.

Schmus' guilty plea was accepted by Circuit Judge George Quist as part of a deal that included the waiving of an open murder charge. As part of the deal, the prosecution recommended a minimum sentence of 30-40 years.

Quist will sentence Schmus at 2 p.m. Oct. 30.

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Prosecutor Chris Becker said his office decided to ask for a prison term of 30 to 40 years, given Schmus was 16 years old at the time of the crime, had no past criminal history, no record of violence at school and has never gone through behavioral or criminal rehabilitation.

He said the decision was based on U.S. Supreme Court decisions in which the justices ruled an automatic sentence of life without parole against a juvenile murderer was unconstitutional except against “the rare juvenile offender who exhibits such irretrievable depravity that rehabilitation is impossible.”

Becker said Hilton’s mother and her relatives “strenuously objected to any sort of offer,” preferring a life sentence without parole for Schmus. He said they were “more than willing to fight for McKenna and her memory,” but ultimately understood.

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McKenna Hilton, 18, was strangled to death in Grand Rapids last year. Her body was left alongside a road, where passersby came upon it. Hilton’s half brother Savon Schmus, 17, admitted to the killing as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.

On Monday, he was sentenced to between 40 and 100 years in prison.

Judge George Quist called the case the worse he’s seen when pronouncing the harshest sentence he could give under the guidelines of the plea agreement.

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Stacey Hilton wanted to focus on her daughter, McKenna, 18, not half-brother Savon Schmus, her killer.

The young woman touched the lives of so many: She was caring, considerate and looked to help others when they were down.

"You were my only baby and you'll always be my only baby - I love you so much."

Then, she turned toward Schmus. "I hate you. I will never forgive you. McKenna did nothing to you to deserve what you did to her."

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Afterward, her mother said she was relieved to have the court action over. The only way justice could be really served is if her daughter could come back. Now, she just wants to keep her daughter's memory alive.

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