FAIRFAX, Va. -- The family of a murdered Northern Virginia teen say they are happy authorities are continuing to make progress in her case.
Police found 16-year-old Jholie Moussa, dead in the woods of an Alexandria park in January. The medical examiner determined she died from a combination of asphyxia by smothering and blunt force trauma.
On Thursday, police arrested her ex-boyfriend, Nebiyu Ebrahim, 18, in connection to the case.
Ebrahim faces first-degree murder charges.
“I am just emotionally on a roller coaster,” said Jholie Moussa’s aunt Veronica Eyenga. “I’ve gone from being in shock to sad to angry. I just don’t know where to direct all of my energy at right now.”
Eyenga said she is happy to see that police are working to search for more evidence.
Divers examined a pond Friday afternoon near Ebrahim’s home. They may have been looking for Moussa’s cellphone.
Moussa had her phone with her when she disappeared on January 12. Her body was found two weeks after she disappeared, under leaves and debris on the back side of Woodlawn Park, less than a mile from the pond. Moussa's family says the last call made to Moussa's phone came from Woodlawn Park. The call came from a cellphone belonging to a 13-year-old boy. The boy told WUSA9 that a tall black man with short hair had asked to borrow the phone to make a call.
Moussa’s aunt, Celine Meyong Krishack, was also present for the evidence search Friday.
“As the day progressed and more media coverage came through, I just started feeling a little bit sad,” she said.
Police had named Ebrahim a person of interest in the case prior to his arrest Thursday. He had previously appeared in court in April for a strangulation attack on Moussa.
Officers also say Ebrahim had served time for a separate felony assault against Moussa.
Meyong Krishack and Eyenga said Moussa’s case shed light on two major issues:
First, she said it has helped spread awareness about teenage domestic violence.
“If he was hitting on her, we wish we would have known in advance so maybe we could have gotten her the help that she needed to really get her head together,” said Eyenga. “But, more importantly, we could have gotten him the help he needed to get his life together.”
The family also said the case has highlighted the need for reforms to Amber Alert system. Moussa’s relatives were disappointed that notice was not immediately put out to the public when she first went missing.
The Fairfax County Police Chief has defended his department’s actions.
Ebrahim’s murder trial begins October 10.
