FAIRFAX, VA (WUSA9) — The young man who is a person of interest in the murder of a Jholie Moussa appeared in court Monday. Jholie, a 16-year-old Fairfax County girl, went missing in January and was found dead in a park two weeks later.
No one has been charged in Moussa’s murder, but Fairfax County Police named a 17-year-old boy as a person of interest. He was Moussa's ex-boyfriend. Because he’s a juvenile, WUSA9 is not using his name.
Before Jholie went missing, the ex-boyfriend was charged with strangulation in an attack on her.
TIMELINE: The Jholie Moussa case
Then, on January 12, Moussa disappeared. According to her twin sister Zhane, she had been snapchatting with a strange man. Zhane said Jholie told her she'd be right back, walked out of the house and was never seen by her family again.
The family was upset at the time that Fairfax County Police listed Jholie as a runaway because she had left on her own. Police said there was no evidence she was in danger. Investigators began searching, pursuing tips north and south. They even traveled to Old Dominion University in Norfolk where it was believed Jholie was headed to a party.
Two weeks after she went missing, police found her body in the woods of Woodlawn Park, a half mile from her home along Richmond Highway.
It was the same park where someone placed the last call to Moussa’s cell phone before it went dead. The phone belonged to a 13-year-old boy who told WUSA9 that he let a man he did not know borrow his phone at the park's basketball court.
The ex-boyfriend has not been charged in Moussa’s death, nor has he been connected to that last call to her phone.
His court appearance was a preliminary hearing for his trial on the strangulation charge. The prosecution called five witnesses during the hearing, but reporters were not allowed in the courtroom. The defense attorney requested a closed hearing, which is allowed since the defendant is a juvenile. The judge granted the request.
Monday's hearing took several hours and did not conclude until after 5 p.m. The result was that the case will move forward to trial in the strangulation charge, which was set for June.
How Jholie died is still a mystery. The Virginia Medical Examiner’s office said last week the autopsy is still not finished. The office administrator said the medical examiner was waiting for more tests to come in.
