Joyce Chiang, a 28-year-old government attorney, was last seen Jan. 9, 1999, walking to a Starbuck's coffee shop in the Dupont Circle area of Washington, D.C. Her body was found three months later (MyFoxDC.com).
Police say they are one step closer to solving the case of a young federal attorney whose body was found 12 years ago on the banks of the Potomac River, MyFoxDC.com reports.
Joyce Chiang, a 28-year-old government attorney, was last seen Jan. 9, 1999, walking to a Starbucks Coffee shop in the Dupont Circle area of Washington, D.C. Her badly decomposed body was found three months later by a canoeist in the Potomac River, and the cause of death could not be determined.
Investigators now say they have identified two men who they believe abducted Chiang with the intention of robbing her, MyFoxDC.com has learned.
One of the suspects is already serving a life sentence in federal prison, according to the station, and the other is believed to be living in a foreign country that doesn't have an extradition treaty.
The suspects were identified through a series of interviews that began more than a year ago, authorities said.
Detectives told the station that they uncovered new evidence suggesting Chiang was taken to the banks of the Anacostia River, where she may have died trying to escape from her abductors. They said they believe she may have slipped on the ice and fallen into the river.
"It was a cold night, and from the scenario, from what the investigators and prosecutors have told me, it all makes sense of what happened that night," Chiang's brother, Roger, said in an interview.
Chiang's case went cold after the medical examiner's office said it could not determine the cause of death, and one police official suggested she committed suicide. Chiang's government work ID and other belongings were also found, but police were unable to identify any suspects or persons of interest.
"My family is so happy right now with the news the prosecutor and the police have reexamined Joyce's case and they have come to the conclusion, the long conclusion that I have been making years ago that Joyce did not commit suicide; that this is indeed a homicide," Roger Chiang said.
Click here to read more on the Joyce Chiang case at MyFoxDC.com
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