New person of interest in case of missing Va. teen

WASHINGTON — Nearly seven weeks after 17-year-old Virginia teen Alexis Murphy disappeared, police are announcing a new person of interest in the investigation.

An attorney for the first man arrested in connection with the case identified a second man he says was the last person to be with Murphy the night she disappeared. Police announced Monday this second person is of interest in the investigation, but did not identify him, reports Lynchburg ABC affiliate WSET.

The Nelson County teen went missing on Aug. 3 and her car was located in a Charlottesville parking lot three days later. Surveillance photos last place her at a Liberty Gas station in Lovingston.

On Aug. 11, police arrested and charged 48-year-old Randy Allen Taylor, of Lovingston, in connection with the case. He remains in custody without bail. Taylor’s lawyer, Mike Hallahan, says police arrested the wrong man.

Hallahan said an unidentified man left Taylor’s house on Aug. 3 and described him as black, in his mid- to late-20s with cornrows in his hair, reports Lynchburg ABC affiliate WSET.

Randy Taylor remains the prime suspect.

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