Mo. man arrested in Md. teen's 1996 cold case slaying
FREDERICK, Md. -- Frederick police are announcing an arrest in the 1996 slaying of a 15-year-old girl.
Frederick Police Department Lt. Clark Pennington said Monday that 52-year-old Lloyd Harris was arrested last week in Kansas City, Missouri, in the death of Stacy Lynn Hoffmaster.
Hoffmaster was reported missing in October 1996. Her body was found that December under a moving blanket in a wooded area where Pennington says Harris was living. She had been strangled. Police allege Harris raped the girl before killing her and disposing of her body.
Harris is being held at the Clay County jail in Liberty, Missouri, pending extradition proceedings.
Pennington says a Frederick County grand jury indicted Harris Jan. 22 on charges of first-degree murder, first-degree rape and third-degree sex offense.
The arrest comes nearly a year after Frederick police named a new primary investigator in Hoffmaster's case, reports CBS affiliate WUSA9. Several witnesses and retired Frederick police officers were reportedly re-interviewed in the new push to close the case.
Police believe Harris and Hoffmaster knew each other, the station reports. Harris reportedly lived in the woods near where the girl's body was found.
The case isn't listed yet in Maryland online court records. It's not clear if Harris has an attorney.
Harris' arrest comes almost a year after Frederick police named Detective Kevin Forrest as the primary investigator for Hoffmaster's death. Since Forrest took over the investigation, police say they re-interviewed several witnesses and retired Frederick police officers who were involved in the original investigation.