Relatives of a 27-year-old Michigan woman found dead in a Miami park are pushing back against investigators’ assessment that she died by suicide, saying, “It’s the last thing she’d do.”
Officials said To’Nea Nicole Miller, of Flint, was discovered on June 18 hanging from a tree near Gwen Cherry Park in Miami, with all of her personal belongings still with her.
Questions surrounding Miller’s death have continued to grow after the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said Friday that detectives had found no signs of foul play and were treating the case as an “apparent suicide.”
“Based on the evidence gathered, detectives have found no evidence that Ms. Miller’s death was the result of foul play,” Major Vernon Williams said during a June 26 press conference.
Williams added, “We understand this does not lessen the grief nor does it erase the difficult questions that follow a tragic loss.”
Miller’s aunt, Michele Howell, went to Miami to identify her niece’s body. Speaking with NBC6 on Friday, she said that after conversations with the case investigator and the medical examiner, the family also concluded Miller died by suicide.
“After talking with the investigator on the case and speaking with the medical examiner … it was suicide,” Howell said. “…After gathering information and investigating, it was not homicide.”
However, other members of Miller’s family remain unconvinced by that conclusion.
To’Nea Nicole Miller,27, was found dead, hanging from a tree in Miami Park.
The death was ruled a suicide although Miller’s sister staunchly disputes the notion.
At a news conference with the Miami-Dade branch of the NAACP on Friday, Miller’s sister vehemently opposed the claim.
‘If anybody knew my sister To’Nea Nicole, that’s the last thing she would do. She loved life too much,’ Teri Miller adamantly declared.
The story has garnered vast community attention through social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and X under the hashtag #JusticeForTonea.
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Miller had reportedly come to Miami to celebrate Juneteenth, as stated in a video by @myalamis and reposted by the official Black Lives Matter (BLM) Instagram account.
However, according to Miller’s sister Terri – Miller had been in Miami since February and was not there just for Juneteenth.
According to the Miami-Dade County Criminal Justice Online Case Search, Miller had a history of arrests in Miami and was charged with criminal mischief, battery, trespassing on property after warning and resisting an officer without violence.
According to an arrest affidavit, officers arrested Miller on February 14, 2025 supporting Terri’s claims that Miller was already in Miami for some time before the incident occurred.
There have been no reports online of a homicide investigation, although some social media users have speculated that her death is related to her previous criminal record.
She said suicide would be highly unlikely knowing her sister’s lust for life
In the U.S., hanging is one of the three most common suicide methods.
According to LegalClarity.org, police are required to investigate all reported suicides to officially establish the circumstances surrounding the death.
According to Florida statutes, a medical examiner or coroner cannot officially ‘rule’ a death as suicide before completing their full investigation and issuing a formal report.
However, as of the time of the ‘judgement,’ on Friday the medical examiner’s report could not be released as autopsy reports in Florida for those who are found to have died by suicide are exempt from public record requests without permission from the next of kin.
The case is continuing to gain attention, as questions and concerns are escalating in tandem with the sister’s recent comments.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Miami Dade County Police and Terri Miller for comment.
