‘Person of interest’ in Jholie Moussa death released from jail

Jholie Moussa, a 16-year-old sophomore at Mount Vernon High School, was found dead Jan. 26 in Woodlawn Park.

The 17-year-old boy named by police last week as a “person of interest” in the death of Jholie Moussa has been released from jail.

The juvenile, who has not been named because of his age, was released from custody at 9:30 a.m. Friday morning, according to Tony Castrilli, director of public affairs for Fairfax County. His next hearing for the assault charge, which is not related to Moussa’s disappearance and death, is April 2, Castrilli said.

The 17 year old is to remain in the community pending trial and his movement will be monitored by electronic monitoring/GPS technology, Castrilli said. WUSA9 reported Wednesday that the juvenile must also turn in his passport and stay away from the Moussa family.

The 17 year old had been held since his arrest on Jan. 18 for an alleged assault on Moussa in December 2017, according to police.  The assault had been previously unreported, but investigators became aware of while investigating Moussa’s disappearance, police said at a press conference on Jan. 30. 

The juvenile has not been charged in Moussa’s death.

Moussa’s family has said in published reports that the 17 year old is her ex-boyfriend. 

It is not clear if the youth, who is reportedly a student at Mount Vernon High School, will be returning to classes there. Fairfax County Public Schools spokesman John Torre said Thursday that he couldn’t confirm if the “person of interest” is a student at Mount Vernon, because the school system had “never been provided a name.”

Moussa was found dead in Woodlawn Park on Jan. 26 by police. She had been missing since Jan. 12, when she left her home on Sonia Court in the Mount Zephyr area. 

It is still unclear when, where or how Moussa died. A police spokesman said Thursday that autopsy results for Moussa are still pending.