Husband Charged With Germantown Woman's Murder; Her Son Is Still Missing
GERMANTOWN, Md. (WJZ)-- Racing the clock. Police are frantically searching for a missing Montgomery County boy after his mother is found murdered. His stepfather is behind bars, but no one has seen the boy for 12 days.
Gigi Barnett has the latest on this developing case.
Curtis Lopez, 45, is charged with murdering his estranged wife. But the question remains: Where is his stepson, 11-year old William McQuain?
A nationwide search is now on for McQuain.
"My hope is that he may be with a family member or a friend that perhaps has no idea what's occurred with his mother," Chief Tom Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department said.
His mother, 51-year old Jane McQuain, was found murdered in her Germantown bedroom. Police believe her body may have been there for nearly two weeks.
Police found her missing car-- a Honda CRV-- in North Carolina Thursday. It was with her estranged husband, 45-year-old Curtis Lopez.
He was arrested outside an Econo Lodge, charged with murdering his wife. But his stepson wasn't with him.
"We're shocked that something like this could happen," said Jane McQuain's neighbor Tracy Wilson.
"I don't have any clue," neighbor Donyel Freeland said. "I just hope that he comes up safe."
Neighbors say they saw Lopez two weeks ago taking items out of McQuain's house and loading them into her car.
"I seen him put this 40 inch or 60 inch flat screen TV," a neighbor being identified as "Sis" said. "It was in a box. The box was open. He put it in the back of her car."
William McQuain hasn't been to class at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Germantown since Sept. 30.
WJZ has obtained a letter sent home to parents that said grief counselors have been brought in for classmates as the search for the 11-year-old continues.
Police now say their top priority is finding the sixth-grader. They admit as the hours tick by discovering him unharmed may be a long shot.
Montgomery County homicide detectives are in North Carolina interviewing Curtis Lopez. They haven't said if he's giving any information about William McQuain's whereabouts.
Police say Jane McQuain suffered trauma to her upper body. An autopsy will be performed by the Medical Examiner's Office.
