Authorities announced on Tues. that they’ve identified a person of interest in the case of Jholie Moussa, a Virginia teen found dead on Jan. 26, only minutes from her home.
WUSA reports that although Alexandria detectives have a person of interest in mind, they are not revealing the name, due to his age. Police arrested a 17-year-old male and charged him with assault, stemming from a incident involving 16-year-old Jholie. According to Maj. Rich Perez, with the Fairfax County Police Department, the suspect was arrested in a previous unreported incident.
Mjr Perez: I can tell you we have a person of interest who is 17. He’s being charged with a felony assault that had been unreported until this investigation began. He is NOT charged with Jholie’s death but is a person of interest. pic.twitter.com/Lb59ZQhEjc
— Fairfax County Police (@fairfaxpolice) January 30, 2018
The suspect was taken into custody on Jan. 18. He remains behind bars without bond. Police indicated that he’s considered a suspect in Jholie’s death.
Authorities found the teen’s body in Woodlawn Park, off of the 4800 block of Manor Drive in Lower Alexandria. She was last a mile away, off of the 4200 block of Sonia Court in Alexandria. According to a press release by Fairfax County PD, police found Johlie covered in brush and leaves.
Posted by Jholie Moussa on Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Jholie was initially listed as a runaway after she left her home on her own free will. She reportedly told her sister she would be back shortly, yet never returned. Syreeta Steward, the teen’s mother, told Dateline shortly after her daughter she disappeared that Jholie was not the type of person to simply disappear without saying anything.
“This is my nightmare. She was not the type of child that ever broke curfew. She was not the type of child that ever talked back.”
She didn’t want to join [many clubs] because she wanted to make sure she could focus on her studies,” Syreeta told NBC’s Dateline. “She loved writing stories. And she said she loved to put her life experiences in her stories. She loved to sing as well, and write songs. That’s pretty much what she did most of the time.”
The investigation into Jholie’s death is still ongoing. Anyone with any information is urged to contact the Fairfax County Police Department at 703-691-2131.
[Feature Photo: Jholie Moussa/Handout]
