New Search for Clues in Fatal Teen Home Invasion

Prince George's County Police are again searching around the Kettering, Md., home where a 17-year-old girl was gunned down in her bed.

Amber Stanley, a high-achieving high school senior, was planning to attend college next fall. Instead, her family and friends are holding a memorial service for her Friday.

As Stanley's loved ones gathered, police recruits checked out a drainage pond just a short distance from the crime scene, and walked slowly, shoulder-to-shoulder, in a grid search of the neighborhood.

Investigators bagged several items in the process. One key piece of evidence -- the gun -- has not been found.

"The day of the murder, we searched trash cans, storm drains; we're searching more of those; we're searching a wooded area over here," a police spokeperson said. Investigators are also searching a new construction area nearby.

Detectives believe Stanley's killer fled home on foot after the Aug. 22 shooting at Stanley's family's home in the 100 block of Chartsey Street. He didn't run, but actually walked quite aways down Chartsey Street and into the larger neighborhood, so authorities have expanded their search area.

Authorities said the fatal shooting was a possible home invasion.

They say a man kicked down the front door, shot Stanley in her bedroom, and left the house without injuring anyone else. Stanley's 37-year-old sister and her small daughter, as well as a 17-year-old foster sister, were at home when the shooting happened.

Now police are again distributing Crime Solvers flyers, offering up to $25,000 for information leading to Stanley's killer.

"People -- witnesses -- always notice the guy running, with 'bad guy' written on his forehead," said the police spokesperson. "This guy... may have been walking.... He may have been thinking, 'I'm not going to bring attendtion to myself."

Neighborhood residents told NBC4's McGrath that they're concerned no one has been arrested, and were glad to see such resources being used to try to find the killer.

"I'm glad the crews are out here, able to do some extra investigating to see what else is going on," said one resident. "I think the whole situation is pretty sad, but hopefully they can get some leads out here, or maybe in other areas of the neighborhood to see possibly what happened or how he got in the area."

Investigators told the Washington Post last week that the person who shot Amber may have been intending to go to a different room, or even a different house.

On Friday, the lead investigator told McGrath that in general, there's a very high probability that the killer had some kind of connection to the victim, but would not speak specifically to the case.

“Why would you want to kill her, to brutally kill her that way?” her mother, Irma Gaither, said in the wake of Stanley's death. “Why would you want to hurt her at all? For what, for what reason? It doesn’t make any sense.”