Teen reported missing two years ago has been arrested in connection with murder
A teenager who went missing two years ago has been arrested in connection with a murder that took place earlier this year in Durham, North Carolina.
On 30 May, police responded to a call and found that a man and two women had been shot. They were taken to the hospital, but the man, 23-year-old Christopher Piedrasanta-Perez, later died of his injuries.
He was killed by a gunshot to the head, and CBS reports that court documents say 18-year-old Gracie Elizabeth Faye Landa was identified as a suspect and charged with murder in connection with Piedrasanta-Perez's death.
The outlet reports that court documents do not indicate whether Landa was also suspected of shooting the two women who were injured.
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The 18-year-old went missing from her home in Florida over two years ago, with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children saying she was reported missing at the age of 16 on 27 June, 2023.
Officials said that during the time she was missing they believed she had travelled to Durham, the 18-year-old was not given bond and is expected to appear before a court again on 11 September.
Piedrasanta-Perez's mother, Amalia, described the 23-year-old as a 'fun brother, friend, grandson, and son to be around'.
She claims that her son had parked his car after delivering a DoorDash order. She alleges that several people then started shooting at him, killing Christopher and injuring the two women.
"He was my first baby," she said.
"Since everything happened, there’s not been a day where I don’t go see his grave. We’re always there. It’s just been so hard, we haven’t stopped going to see him."
The News and Observer reports that the 23-year-old and two friends were sitting in his car when multiple people approached, opened fire and then left.
They add that a newly released search warrant claimed that the three people in the car were where they were because one of them was planning to fight another girl.
The warrant states that video footage shows two people coming out of the woods and shooting at the 23-year-old Christopher's car before fleeing again.
At least 40 bullet casings were found at the scene, according to a report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, and in a call to the police, the person who raised the alarm said they had been in the car and shot at least 10 times.
Joe Harker