Aarone Thompson was reported missing on Monday by her father. Police in Aurora, Colo., with the help of the FBI, conducted an intense three-day search, but concluded, after a call from a close friend of the family late Wednesday night, that Aarone was killed in her home perhaps as long as 18 months ago by someone close to her.
We believe that Aarone was murdered in the home," said acting police Chief Terry Jones. "It [the call] shed some light on the fact that Aarone Thompson may have been murdered in this house on Kepner Drive, not recently, some time ago, but up to a year-and-a-half ago. The individual did have the information [for some time] and I don't know what prompted the fact that the information came forward other than the media coverage that Aarone Thompson was missing."
Police say they have not yet interviewed Thompson and Lowe since they became "persons of interests" but they have had preliminary talks with seven other children who live in their home. The children, whose ages range from 6 to 15 years old, have been taken into protective custody.
Police acknowledged Thursday that the family did allow detectives to conduct one-on-one interviews but said Aarone's father was still not completely cooperative.
"The cooperation has improved but there's still more cooperation that needs to take place," Aurora police spokesman Marcus Dudley said.
Police today will search the Thompson home again. On Wednesday, the FBI searched the home and a trash truck, and police said agents found some items of interest and took them away for further inspection. Investigators would not say what the items were or whether they are involved in the case.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=1325602