Police arrested a 17-year-old boy and are calling him a person of interest in the death of a 16-year-old girl who went missing from her Virginia home in early January.
Maj. Rich Perez of the Fairfax County Police Department said the teen was charged in a previously unreported assault on Jholie Moussa. The teen, who police did not identify because he is a juvenile, has not been charged in her death.
Moussa left home in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County on Friday, Jan. 12 after telling her twin sister she was going to a party in Norfolk, nearly 200 miles away.
"The department’s efforts towards resolving this case and bringing a measure of justice for Jholie and her family continues and will be relentless," Perez said. "Every resource necessary has been and will continue to be deployed."
Perez said the teen is also being considered a person of interest in Moussa’s death. He said the teen was taken into custody on Jan. 18 for the previous assault and has been in custody since then.
Moussa’s body was found in a wooded area of Woodlawn Park on Jan. 26, less than a mile from where she was last seen in the 4200 block of Sonia Court. An officer found her body almost entirely covered by leaves.
A vigil of support for Moussa and her family is planned for Thursday night at 6 p.m. at the New Life Bible Church in Springfield.
