Authorities in California are reportedly re-investigating a potential lead in the homicide of a 13-year-old girl after a bounty hunter announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to her killer.
Jessica Funk Haslem, an eighth-grader at Albert Einstein Middle School in Sacramento, was found stabbed, beaten and strangled in a baseball dugout in Rosemont Community Park last March. But the case went cold until bounty hunter Leonard Padilla put out a sizeable reward, Fox40.com reports.
“We’ve got some interesting conversations from folks as a result of it,” Padilla said. “It’s definitely worth it. We passed it off to law enforcement.”
Padilla said he told investigators about an inmate at a local jail who shared information with him. It’s a lead cops followed before but will now investigate again.
“We are very motivated,” said Sacramento County Sheriff's Department spokesman Sgt. Jason Ramos. “Our investigators have a lot invested in this case and we want it to be solved. We want justice for Jessica, her family, the community.”
Investigators remain optimistic they will solve the brutal murder that rocked the community.
“I think that we’re gonna be successful,” Padilla said. “The reward is still out there.”
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