(eerie music)
- Here's what we know right now.
Manheim Township police say 14-year-old Claire Miller
called police and said she had killed her sister.
- [Reporter] Investigators are now looking
into her social media and technology profiles for clues.
(soft music)
- [Narrator] TikTok is known as a fun
and creative social media platform
used by millions to mindlessly scroll
through short videos of endless content.
Perfect for those seeking distraction.
Usually, video show choreographed dances,
goofy POV's, and thousands of memes.
But sometimes more sinister things
creep into the world of TikTok.
And sometimes these dark themes go viral.
What is up EWU Crew?
Today we are taking a quick look
at a disturbing case that recently went viral on TikTok.
Let's get into it.
Claire Elaina Miller, a 14-year-old
from Manheim Township, Pennsylvania,
who was known for her frequent use of TikTok,
has become the center of a disturbing case.
On Monday, February 22nd, 2021,
Claire called 911 shortly after 1:00 AM.
On the call where she was described
as sounding hysterical,
she allegedly told authorities
that she had killed her sister.
When the police arrived after Claire's call,
they found her standing outside the house,
waiting for them.
Police found her standing next to what appeared
to be blood on the snow near the driveway.
According to the police report,
Claire appeared to be attempting to use the snow
to wash off the blood that was on her hands.
The report suggests that police
also discovered blood on Claire's pants.
According to an arrest affidavit,
Claire began to repeatedly tell the officers
"I stabbed my sister."
Claire's older sister was 19-year-old,
Helen Miller, who had cerebral palsy
and was wheelchair bound.
Helen has also been reported to be non-verbal,
though this hasn't been officially confirmed.
According to her Facebook page,
Helen was known to enjoy art
and created sculptures and paintings.
Apparently, after her confession,
Claire then directed the police
to her sister's bedroom where they discovered Helen
with her face covered by a pillow,
which had bloodstains on it.
Included in the affidavit is the detailed
the police found a large knife
in Helen's neck just above her chest.
At the scene, the police attempted to save Helen's life,
but all efforts were unsuccessful
and she was pronounced dead at 4:13 AM.
The Lancaster County Office of the Coroner released
that Helen had died from multiple stab wounds.
At the time of the incident,
the girl's parents were reportedly asleep.
Claire was immediately taken into custody.
A search warrant was then issued,
and when it was released,
it revealed the DNA samples were taken
from the crime scene along with the knives.
The same day of Helen's death,
Claire was charged with one count of homicide.
Under Pennsylvania law,
homicide is treated automatically as an adult crime
because homicide is not considered to be a delinquent act.
Reportedly, Pennsylvania teens who are charged
with homicide are usually tried in adult court,
which can result in life sentences.
An unnamed witness reportedly
had a phone conversation with Claire,
which led the witness to believe
that Claire had suicidal and homicidal thoughts,
which the witness claims Claire shared
with them allegedly before Helen's death.
It has not been released when this purported
phone call took place.
Claire's mugshot appears to show
what could be two fresh scratches
located on her neck below her ear.
There is speculation that the scratches occurred
during the alleged crime.
Because of the homicide charge,
Claire was denied bail.
And so she remains in a female state prison.
The alleged crime created a frenzy on TikTok
after other users began discussing
what may have occurred.
Many on the platform believe
that the account, @spiritsandsuchconsulting,
with 32,000 followers was run by Claire.
Because of the sudden interest,
the last videos from the account gained millions of views.
In fact, the last video posted on the account,
which was added on the day before Helen's death,
amassed shocking 4.9 million views
with the comments filled by users
discussing the alleged crime.
Videos on the account appear to show Claire
as well as one video appears to show someone
who could be Claire's older sister, Helen.
Her family members, including her father,
also seem to be featured frequently in her videos.
Following the videos going viral,
TikTok removed the account,
though they never confirmed that it had belonged to Claire.
They said the account had violated
the platform's community guidelines,
which says they do not allow their users
to promote or engage in violence.
Though Claire's alleged account has been removed,
other users were quick to screen record
Many of the videos that had been posted to the account
which were later re-uploaded to YouTube and Twitter.
For many users who were familiar
with the videos posted on Claire's account,
it wasn't clear to them why her account
had violated community guidelines
as her content was usually unoffensive.
However, attention was brought to a video
that had been posted from her account
on the day before her sister was killed,
which allegedly showed Claire venting about her father.
In this video, the girl can be seen looking
off camera with the text-to-speech audio reading.
"My dad has to stop opening the conversation with,
'This is just like the gay bar in Japan.'"
Internet speculation over this video includes
comments on how angry Claire seemed to appear
and that her demeanor was chilling,
knowing the alleged crime that would later occur.
Other users were quick to share another video
from the banned account that appears
to show Clare's father goofing around with the family
and someone who resembles her sister, Helen,
in the background of a few clips.
Many comments below the repost
lament that the family appeared happy and normal.
However, a disturbing video that allegedly
was posted right after Helen was killed
has been screen recorded
and widely shared after the account
believed to be Claire's was disabled,
which is a likely the video that violated
the TikTok community guidelines.
Currently, the video is only allegedly linked
to Claire's account.
Unfortunately, as her account was removed
and the recorded video doesn't have the original
account's name attached,
it can't be verified at this time
nor have the police released a public statement yet
regarding the legitimacy of this video.
The video of recorded repost
appears to show a blood covered white latex glove
laying on snow before it pans over
to show a blood covered stuffed giraffe toy,
also outside on the snow.
Internet theorists were quick to debate
the authenticity of the video
as some have pointed out that if Claire
was seen by police officers
attempting to wash her hands
of any blood in the snow outside her house,
she probably wouldn't have been wearing gloves
at the time of the alleged crime.
Some internet sleuths have speculated
that perhaps the video,
and even the alleged crime itself,
occurred in an attempt to gain clout
as was seen in the case
of 19-year-old Zachary Latham
who allegedly killed his neighbor on May 4th, 2020
reportedly in an attempt to become TikTok famous.
Though this is clearly speculation,
there are some eerie similarities,
such as the TikTok video Latham posted
being viewed more than three million times.
Similarly, Claire's account is believed
to have gained thousands of followers
after the news of her sister's death was released.
So far, there has been no publicly released motive
in Helen's death as the investigation is still underway.
Claire's preliminary hearing is set for March 30th
where more details are likely to be revealed.
(dramatic music)