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Kayla Hamilton was found strangled in her Aberdeen, Maryland, home on July 27, 2022. She was allegedly murdered by an MS-13 gang member who entered the country illegally. (Aberdeen Police Department)
A mother is filing a $100 million wrongful death lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services after her daughter was allegedly murdered by an MS-13 gang member who entered the country illegally.
Officers from the Aberdeen Police Department in Maryland responded to a home around 5 p.m. on July 27, 2022, for a cardiac arrest. When they arrived they found 20-year-old Kayla Hamilton dead from apparent strangulation. Police said at the time that they zeroed in on a 17-year-old male suspect who had rented a room in Hamilton’s home. In January 2023, the boy was charged with first-degree murder.
Investigators learned the teen, from El Salvador, had entered the country as an unaccompanied minor in 2020 and was an alleged member of the MS-13 gang. The lawsuit, filed by Brian Claypool of the California-based Claypool Law Firm, alleges that DHS committed “operational negligence” by not properly inspecting the boy when he crossed the border.
Claypool alleges the boy had a tattoo that indicated he was a member of the gang. It’s DHS protocol to look for such tattoos and investigate further if found, the lawsuit states. Had the agency done that, it would have learned that the boy was previously arrested for being a member of the gang in El Salvador back in 2020, Claypool said. The boy would have then been deported.
“All DHS had to do was make one phone call to verify this and Kayla would be alive,” Claypool said.
Hamilton, who had autism, had just moved to Aberdeen with her boyfriend and cat, Oreo. Her mother Tammy Nobles testified last week in front of the House panel conducting an impeachment inquiry into Homeland Security Investigations Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. She described her daughter as “kind, thoughtful and funny.” Nobles said Hamilton had tried calling her boyfriend for help but it went to voicemail.
“The voicemail of the murderer strangling Kayla was 2 minutes and 30 seconds long,” she said, adding that the suspect strangled her daughter with a cord and stole $6 from her.
During her testimony, she called for stricter immigration laws and for agencies at the border to follow their existing policies.
“For me this is not a political issue this is a safety issue for everyone living in the United States,” she said. “This could have been anyone’s daughter. I don’t want any other parent to live the nightmare that I am living. I am her voice now and I am going to fight with everything I have to get her story told and bring awareness of the issue at the border.”
A spokesperson for DHS released a statement about the lawsuit.
“Our hearts go out to Ms. Hamilton’s family. We do not comment on pending litigation. The men and women of DHS take their responsibility to secure our homeland very seriously,” the statement said.
