California investigators have yet to identify the intruder who stabbed and killed 9-year-old Leila Fowler in her home on Saturday, news reports said.
Fowler was found by her brother with several stabbing injuries in her Calaveras County, California home. She died later that day at a hospital, according to a Calaveras County Media Release by Jim Macedo. Macedo said that the girl's parents were at a "nearby public event" and that her brother "is not a suspect at this time, but we are continuing to talk to him, which would be normal because he was the last person with the child," police said.
Witnesses and phone tippers have given authorities three different descriptions of the possible intruder, but police have yet to release those descriptions since, "We don't want to lead anybody in the wrong direction," he said.
Police are currently conducting a widespread search for the suspect and will have an "increased and visible presence at the schools and bus stops" until the crime is solved, Macedo added. "As we grapple with the tragic and senseless loss of one of our own, we do so knowing we will be ready to do what is necessary to provide a safe environment for students and for staff, and to stand unified and strong as we provide whatever level of support and assistance that is necessary to help the family, our students, and our staff process the unthinkable."
Jenny Lind Elementary School, Toyon Middle School and Calaveras High School have said that there is a stepped up police presence since Fowler's murder.
