Neal Augenstein, wtop.com
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. – Police investigating the murder of 17-year-old Amber Stanley in her bed believe the killer attempted to avoid drawing attention to himself by “walking or fast-walking” from her home.
As police cadets conducted a grid search Friday near Stanley’s home on Chartsey Street in the Kettering neighborhood, Prince George’s County Police Capt. Joe Hoffman says investigators have not recovered a murder weapon.
Stanley was shot several times Wednesday evening, Aug. 23, while other family members were in the home. Police say the killer forced his way into the home.
Hoffman would not discuss possible motives, but does believe Stanley, or someone else in the home, was targeted.
“Statistically, there’s a very high probability the person who did this had some nexus to that home somehow,” Hoffman says.
Hoffman says police believe the murderer left the scene on foot, and hope neighbors recall seeing someone acting suspiciously.
“Witnesses always notice the guy running with ‘bad guy’ written on his forehead,” Hoffman says. “We’re being told this guy was not running. He may have been walking. He may have been fast-walking.”
“He may have been thinking, ‘I’m not going to bring attention to myself, and I’m going to walk through this neighborhood and then no one will notice me.'”
Stanley was an honor student and senior at Charles H. Flowers High School in Springdale.
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