Detroit woman charged with felony after friend's body found on side of Southfield road

Oakland County prosecutors charged a 23-year-old female who continued driving the vehicle that Southfield resident Mia Kanu was in before her body was found lying on the side of the road in early June.

On Friday, Oakland County prosecutors charged Detroit resident Kentia Fearn with failure to stop at the scene of an accident resulting in death, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and/or up to a $5,000 fine. Fearn also is charged with operating while intoxicated, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail, the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office said in an email to the Detroit Free Press.

A spokesperson for the Prosecutor's Office confirmed the suspect was taken into custody Tuesday night. Fearn was arraigned in 46th District Court in Southfield on Wednesday afternoon in front of Judge Debra Nance. She was given a $3,000 personal bond. A probable cause conference is scheduled for Fearn on Sept. 28 in Nance's courtroom.

In a statement from the prosecutor’s office, “it is alleged that the defendant was driving the car, and that the victim jumped from the moving car, resulting in her death. The defendant did not stop their car and left the area.”

“The law requires anyone involved in an accident to stop and immediately report the accident to authorities” said Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald. “Leaving the scene when someone is seriously injured or dies is a felony. My office will hold those who do so accountable.”

According to Southfield police, on June 3, officers responded at about 4:32 a.m. to the area of Providence Drive after reports of a body being found lying in the middle of the road in front of the Coach House Apartments. The body later was identified as Kanu. At the time of the incident, authorities said they were unsure how the body ended up in the roadway, but confirmed that they were treating the investigation as a homicide due to the concerns of an unnatural death involving a young person.

After Kanu was found, she was taken to Ascension Providence Hospital in Southfield, where she remained on life support for two days. She was pronounced dead on June 5 and put back on life support until June 8, when the hospital held a walk of life for her because Kanu was an organ donor.

Bianca Vanmeter, the mother of the victim, says the charges being brought in her daughter's death are a big relief.

"I am thankful that someone is being held accountable," Vanmeter said. "Like, just having the ignorance for someone's life, and somebody that you called a friend, you needed to be held accountable."

On the night of Kanu's death, Vanmeter said her daughter had been hanging out with friends at a house party. Before hanging out, Kanu had been picked up from work at the Green Lantern restaurant in Berkley by a female friend. This same friend, Vanmeter said, had been staying at the house with Vanmeter and Kanu. And the vehicle that picked her daughter up from work, she said, was the same vehicle that was involved in the incident.

More: Woman, 23, attended house party before mysterious death in Southfield

Southfield police have confirmed there is video footage of the incident. The Detroit Free Press has submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for the footage to the Southfield Police Department.

Vanmeter says the last time she saw her daughter alive was on the morning of June 2 before she went to work. Kanu was a student at Tennessee State University and she had just come home for summer break.

The loss of her daughter, Vanmeter says, has left a hole in her heart and her family. Kanu was the type of person that could light up a room and she was a lover of all things, especially animals, her mother said. Kanu adopted a cat named Tails while she was attending TSU, studying to become a veterinarian. Now, Vanmeter says, that cat is what she looks at as her daughter leaving a piece of her behind.

"It's almost like having her baby around, but he just can't talk" Vanmeter said. "I have these 'Justice for Mia' signs at my front door, and one fell recently and he (Tails) just went and sat on it. I was just like, 'Awww, do you miss your mom?' You know, like what are you thinking?"

Vanmeter says she is grateful to everyone who has continued to support her during this time. She says while she is happy that Fearn has been charged, she still will need support because the road ahead is long. Her goal through this process, she says, is to try to remain calm and keep the peace for Kanu's friends and family, and for her daughter's memory.

"People are watching me," Vanmeter said. "And I need to be that same example that Mia showed to everybody too."

More details of the night of the incident are scheduled to be released during a news conference by Southfield Police Chief Elvin Barren at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, at the Southfield Police Department.

“The law requires anyone involved in an accident to stop and immediately report the accident to authorities. Leaving the scene when someone is seriously injured or dies is a felony. My office will hold those who do so accountable,” stated Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit woman charged with felony after friend's body found on road