Indiana State Police have released a sketch of a man Monday believed to be the main suspect in the murders of two teens who were found dead in the woods in February.
The sketch shows a man sporting a goatee with a hat and a hoodie. Police describe him as a white man with reddish brown hair, standing 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-10 and weighing about 120 to 180 pounds.
Friends Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, went missing on Feb. 13 after a hike on the Delphi Historic Trails. The teens’ bodies were found the next day in the woods, miles away from Indianapolis. Their deaths were ruled a homicide, and police didn’t say how they were killed.
“We really truly hope that this is the piece of the puzzle that we need to bring justice to our girls,” Abigail’s mother, Anna Williams, told ABC News.
Riley has urged the public to focus on the suspect’s facial features as the investigation into the murders continues. No arrests have been made in the five months since the teens vanished.
Authorities have issued a reward of more than $230,000 for information leading to an arrest in the teens’ killings.
Grandparents of U.S. residents from six predominantly Muslim countries included in the Trump administration’s travel ban will be allowed to obtain visas and enter the United States, according to a report by Reuters.
The news agency viewed a State Department cable that indicates the administration will comply with a court ruling that found grandparents and other relatives should not be included in the ban.
A Supreme Court decision earlier this summer allowed the Trump administration to move forward with its executive order, but said that people with close family relationships should be able to apply for a visa and enter the United States.
The Trump administration, however, took a narrow scope of who could be considered as a close relative. It said grandparents did not count, nor did grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces and cousins.
A Hawaii District Court judge said that such relatives of individuals living in the U.S. should be considered as close relatives.
The State Department cable, dated July 14, reportedly states that “grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts and uncles, nephews and nieces, and cousins” are considered close family members and as a result can win visas.
The Department of Justice, however, is pushing back on the Hawaii court’s decision. It filed a motion last week asking the Supreme Court to clarify its June 26th ruling. DOJ said the district court’s interpretation “empties the court’s decision of meaning, as it encompasses not just ‘close’ family members, but virtually all family members.”
The parties challenging the ban have until noon on Tuesday to respond to the government’s request for the Supreme Court to clarify its ruling.