NORWICH – New York State police have deemed the death of an 11-year-old girl to be a homicide.

On Sunday, NYS police were called to a residence at 961 County Route 33 in Norwich to investigate a report that the girl had gone into cardiac arrest.

The victim, Jacelyn O'Connor, of Morris, was dead when police arrived.

Upon investigation, police say the O'Connor was the the victim of a homicide.

The investigation into the murder is still ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the New York State Police in Norwich at 334-3296.

In response, the Morris Central School has issued a statement:

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Jacelyn O’Connor. Jacelyn will be greatly missed by her classmates, teachers and staff at Morris. We are a family and it is extremely difficult when one of our family members passes away.

The community is planning on a candlelight vigil in Jacelyn’s memory on August 7 at 7:00 pm. It will be held in front of the old front entrance at school.

As a parent/guardian, if you are having a difficult time speaking to your child about this tragedy, we have placed some helpful information on the school’s website under the parent tab. It is the last bullet under the parent tab. If your child would like to speak to a grief counselor, there are counselors at school to speak with.