HOUSTON – The Block family, in town for a basketball tournament, stayed at the Hyatt in north Houston, Texas, Friday night while the MacArthur High School prom was well under way.
"It seemed nice. Put me back to when I was in 12th grade," said Michael Block, in town from San Antonio.
They would never have thought the night would take a tragic turn for 18-year-old Jacqueline Gomez, a MacArthur student for whom this prom night would be her last.
"She then stayed overnight in the hotel. In the morning hours, the person that was with her found her deceased in her bed. We are not sure at this hour what the cause of death is," said Det. Mike Miller, with the Houston Police Department Homicide Division.
Police said they found alcohol and prescription pain killers in the hotel room. They also told KHOU-TV that the girl's boyfriend had called 911. They took him in for questioning about what happened.
"He was there. He knows everything, so we're just continually wanting to find out what happened and everything," said Miller. "We have no reason to believe he contributed to her death."
Kyren Block and his family were staying just a few doors down from some of the MacArthur High School students.
"You could hear it all the way down the hallway. They were yelling," Block said.
Others staying at the hotel had no idea what had happened.
"The girls had on beautiful gowns, you know chiffon-looking gowns. They looked really nice. I watched them come in. Yeah that's very tragic," said Donald Burton, a hotel guest.
Homicide detectives are still investigating and trying to find out what took the 18-year-old's life.
KHOU learned that Gomez worked at the Kroger grocery store just down the street from MacArthur High School. She was just two weeks away from graduation.
Her close friends Bibiana and Antonio now only have pictures to remember their friend by.
"My heart sank, I hoped it really wasn't her. I didn't want to believe it," Bibiana said. "She was an amazing girl.
"She liked helping out everybody," Antonio added.
For now, the MacArthur senior's friends and family are struggling to cope with her loss. They're telling KHOU they want answers. They want to know what exactly happened to her... and why.
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