Brynn Carnesecca, 21, died by suicide on Sunday, July 26, her family confirmed to local news outlet KSL.
Brynn Carnesecca was crowned Miss American Fork in 2024 and was set to compete in the Miss Provo pageant competition on Aug. 22.
“She took her own precious life, but she is more than what happened to her,” her mother Michele Carnesecca said.
On Tuesday, July 28, a vigil was held for the late pageant queen at American Fork Amphitheater, where attendees wore yellow to honor her memory and wrote notes in her name.
Brynn had been published in the American Fork Citizen, the Lehi Free Press, Utah Valley Magazine, Good Things Utah and BYU’s Daily Universe. “She was an incredible writer and reader from a young age,” Michele told the outlet.
Carnesecca was an accomplished musician and journalist who interned at KSL in 2025.
“Brynn loved telling stories, and she loved writing,” friend Jefferson Penrod said at Tuesday’s vigil. “And I think for her, journalism was a way that she could not only do good in the community but also express her passions in writing.”
Brittany Wood, Mrs. Utah 2026, expressed her sympathies on social media. “Brynn truly radiated kindness,” she said. Wood explained how she brought her daughter to the rehearsal for the Miss American Fork pageant that she was emceeing and how Carnesecca stayed with her daughter for hours. The two also judged the Miss Utah mock interviews together this year and Wood said, “I remember thinking how smart and inspiring she was.”
Michele Carnesecca described how “gifted and talented” her daughter was, and how she loved music and making the people around her smile. “Oh, how she loved to laugh,” Michele Carnesecca said.
“What sets Brynn apart is that her life was all about service. She loved serving as Miss American Fork, she created Envelopes of Hope for the incarcerated inmates of Utah, and she was always doing quiet acts of service.”
She told KSTU last September that she wanted to build empathy between people “in the free world” and those in prison. “I’ve seen so many lives change and how much empathy and connection can be built through these letters,” she said at the time.
“This is giving people a place to be seen, and it is a cathartic way for them to positively express their emotions and find somebody that is supporting them in their journey,” Brynn explained of Envelopes of Hope.
She was looking for a way to give back during her time with the Miss America opportunity. She remembered an opportunity for her years ago when she wrote a pen pal in a prison in Philadelphia. Brynn explained, “Franklin and I wrote for a few months and connected in a few ways. We were very different in age, gender, beliefs, and gender but somehow, we found connection in our letter writing.”
Speaking of her nonprofit during her Miss Utah pageant run, she explained her vision: “I’ve seen so many lives change and how much empathy and connection can be built through these letters,” she said.
On a GoFundMe for Brynn’s funeral expenses, her cousin, Kassidy Jackman Murdoch, wrote that Brynn had been a “bright light in our family and community.” “Brynn dedicated herself to sharing stories and spreading kindness. Her passion for helping others was evident in everything she did,” wrote Murdoch.
“Our family is heartbroken by Brynn’s unexpected passing. We want to honor her memory in a way that reflects her spirit and the love she gave to so many. Brynn touched countless lives through her work and her generosity, and we hope to celebrate her legacy with a meaningful memorial,” Kassidy Jackman Murdoch wrote in the GoFundMe page’s description.
The Miss American Fork organization put out a statement on its Instagram, remembering the young pageant queen. “There are no words to express the heartbreak of losing you, Brynn. Your beautiful smile, your kindness, your passion, and the way you supported everyone around you will never be forgotten,” the caption of the post read.
The organization continued, “You left the biggest shoes to fill for every Miss American Fork who comes after you. I have always looked up to you, and I am so grateful that I got to know you, learn from you, and experience the love and encouragement you gave so freely.”
The Miss Utah Scholarship Organization wrote about her “kindness, service, and friendship” that “touched countless people across the state.” “(This is a) testament to the way she made others feel seen, valued, and loved,” the post read.
Good Things Utah, the station where Brynn worked as an intern, mourned her loss. “Our Utah community and all of us here at Good Things Utah and ABC4 are mourning the sudden loss of Brynn Carnesecca. Brynn has been our summer intern and she has spent the last several months here with us on GTU writing stories, greeting guests, posting on social media and being an all around bright light to everyone who met her.”
In the viral moment that defined her public life, Brynn founded Envelopes of Hope, an initiative born from her own pen pal experience in high school.
Through Envelopes of Hope, anyone above the age of 16 can sign up to be a penpal for an incarcerated individual in Utah. This program is designed to foster community, build relationships and encourage hope for the incarcerated.
As part of her Community Service Project as Miss American Fork, Carnesecca decided to work with the Utah Department of Corrections to form her own organization. During her senior year at American Fork High School, she joined a pen pal project through which volunteers would write to prison inmates across the country. Carnesecca was paired with a man named Franklin, serving time at the Pennsylvania Correctional Facility.
Initially, she was hesitant about befriending a man she didn’t know, who was thousands of miles away. “It was very intimidating and a little bit scary because I didn’t know who my pen pal was. I didn’t know a lot about him or really what”
was ahead, but that experience transformed her understanding of incarcerated individuals and sparked her lifelong commitment to bridge empathy between communities.
Her mother, Michele Carnesecca, told KSL she wants her daughter to be remembered for the “amazing life she lived.”