Rumors Swirl, Toxicology Report Ordered After Body on GVSU Athletic Tracks Identified as 18-Year-Old Freshman, Activist Taylor DeRosa
By: Kay Vanantwerpen
Tags: Michigan, Gvsu, News, Crime, Murder

Updated Friday, December 18.

Allendale, Mi. — A toxicology report was ordered Friday on the body of 18-year-old Freshman and community activist Taylor Jade DeRosa, who was found dead on the athletic tracks at GVSU’s Allendale Campus nearly a week prior. Campus Police said it could take into 2021 until the report is available.

“It is with a heavy heart and unimaginable sadness that I regret to inform you, my daughter, Taylor DeRosa passed away on Saturday,” DeRosa’s mother, Carolyn DeRosa, wrote in a Facebook post. “Please continue to pray for my family and [Taylor’s] friends during this difficult time. 1/13/02–12/12/20 #rememberingtaylorderosa”

18-year-old Taylor DeRosa’s body was found on the athletic tracks at GVSU’s Allendale Campus Saturday, December 12.

DeRosa was a freshman, majoring in International Business and French, and a leader of the Students Demand Action campus organization. She was an aggressive advocate for gun control reform, Black Lives Matter, and women’s rights. She graduated from Royal Oak High School, where she played on the varsity lacrosse team. GVSU classmates described her as sweet, bubbly, positive, and popular.

She once met U.S. representative Andy Levin (D-Bloomfield) during his election campaign in 2018. Levin spoke out on social media.

“I am having a hard time accepting that Taylor DeRosa’s life has been cut so very short,” He wrote. “Taylor was a huge splash of sunshine in an unjust world. Her commitment to change was so convincing — you knew the world would change at least a little because Taylor was present, fighting for sensible gun reform, for everyone to see and cherish Black lives, to empower women and girls. I felt that frankly strong, joyful, intelligent women would gain their rightful place at all manner of tables of power because, well, Taylor would show the way.

“Taylor made me feel that every minute we invest in our young people is time well spent. I feel that way even now, as my heart continues to break over her loss.”

Suspicious Death and What it All Means

A jogger found DeRosa’s body around 5 a.m. on Saturday, December 12. While GVSU faculty said that the body was found near the intramural fields and cross-country trail, an Ottawa county incident report more specifically states that the body was found “on the track, by the turf building.”

Shortly after, authorities labeled the death “suspicious.” Campus police, Ottawa County Police, and Michigan State Police are conducting a collaborative investigation. The toxicology report will hopefully contain information about drugs, alcohol, or toxins that may have been a factor in DeRosa’s death.

“There is much we do not know about the cause of her death,” GVSU President Philomena V. Mantella wrote in a release. “The investigation is ongoing. “Grand Valley Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police Brandon DeHaan assures us at this time it appears the general public and the campus community are not in danger. He is urging us all to be patient while GVPD and other law enforcement agencies continue their investigation. We have a moral obligation not to spread misinformation that fuels unhelpful suppositions and may hamper the investigation.”

In clinical terms, a “suspicious” death doesn’t necessarily mean a crime was committed. It can also mean that the death “escapes medical prognosis” and occurred in a place or time that contradicts clinical expectations (unsolved medical crises fall under this category). Approximately 20% of all deaths are labeled suspicious.

However, suspicious deaths raise the risk of additional related deaths according to experts. A coroner or medical examiner must follow up and determine the public risk factor, and only they can define whether additional danger is present. Read more about the brokering of suspicious deaths in this excerpt from “Postmortem.”

Rumors of a Viral Mugging Video, Fight and Drowning at Enclave Apartments

The initial announcement of a body found on campus was constructed of sparse actual detail— a body was found near the athletic building, the circumstances were suspicious, and the public was likely not in danger. That was about it.

While students grasped for more information, unverified rumors began to run wild — all involving some variation of events at the off-campus Enclave Apartments (located at 48th Avenue and Lake Michigan Drive) the night of DeRosa’s death. These rumors included:

A drowning in the pool at Enclave Apartments.

A fight on the premises of Enclave Apartments.

A video shared via social media, of a GVSU student being mugged.

Enclave Apartments officially responded to these rumors (or at least, specifically the rumor about a drowning) through GVSU senior and Enclave Community Assistant Kristen Fenner.

Fenner wrote in the GVSU Class of 2021 Facebook group: “We realize that tragedy can bring speculation and sometimes-false rumors. It has been brought to our attention that rumors are circulating on social media that a second person was found drowned at our property. There is no truth to this rumor, this rumor is false as confirmed by the Ottawa County Sheriff Department.”

Kristen Fenner, GVSU senior and Enclave Apartments Community Assistant, addressing rumors of another incident at the off-campus apartment complex.

The talk of campus-related murder in prior years is not entirely inaccurate. Just this September, a lawsuit against the Ottawa County Sherrif’s Department and GVPD concluded.

The lawsuit was over student Rosemarie Reilly, who had reported her ex-boyfriend to GVPD and the Ottawa County Sherrif’s department. He had stalked and threatened her, on one occasion calling her home a total of 43 times over the course of four days. He had previously assaulted her, breaking her nose and pointing a gun at her head.

GVPD helped Reilly file a Personal Protection Order and warned her ex-boyfriend to stay away. Undissuaded, and allegedly even more agitated, he appeared at Reilly’s home on Nov. 6, 2016, dragged her outside by her hair, and shot her. He shot himself before an arrest was made.

The lawsuit alleged that Reilly’s ex-boyfriend was only agitated and emboldened by the visit from police, and that it was ultimately what led him to commit the murder. The judge in the lawsuit threw out the case, deeming that police had done all they could.

How You Can Help

DeRosa’s mother, Carolyn DeRosa, will be the recipient of a GoFundMe campaign to ease the burden of funeral costs. The campaign has raised $62,000 consisting of donations from 1,804 people at the time of this writing. Excess funds will go to a yet-to-be-selected cause that would’ve been close to DeRosa’s heart. A vigil was held for DeRosa on Wednesday, December 16.

Visit the Fundraiser Here

If you have any information involving the case, you can anonymously contact Silent Observer at 877–887–4536 or the Grand Valley State University Police Department at 616–331–3255.