Person wanted in connection to Barnard College student Tessa Majors' murder located by police
Police have located the person who is wanted in connection to the murder of Barnard College student Tessa Majors in New York City.
Almost a week after the NYPD released three photographs of an apparent young boy wanted in connection to the murder, the person was located, according to a Twitter post by the Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison.
"We have located this individual. Thank you to everyone who reached out with information. This is an active and ongoing investigation," Harrison said.
Police officials tell ABC News the individual was found Thursday morning in the Bronx. He was tracked down through the use of electronic surveillance and was brought in, photographed, fingerprinted and a DNA sample was taken, according to police officials.
The teen was released to his family and attorney pending the results of the testing. Charges would not be filed, if any, pending the test results.
"Our detectives are the best at what they do and are committed to finding justice for all parties involved," said Harrison.
NYPD is declining to comment further pending the ongoing investigation.
Majors was stabbed inside Morningside Park on Dec. 11, near the Columbia University campus, which is located across the street from her school.
The 18-year-old from Charlottesville, Virginia, stumbled out of the park and onto W. 116th Street and Morningside Drive where a school public safety officer spotted her and called 911, police said. She died soon after at a local hospital.
A 13-year-old boy has been arrested and charged with murder, robbery and weapons possession, though authorities do not believe he is the one to have stabbed Majors. The teen suspect's case is being heard in family court.
According to police testimony at a Dec. 17 court appearance, the 13-year-old allegedly told detectives he saw one of his companions stab Majors with a red handled knife "in a stabbing, poking motion" and saw "feathers coming up from the chest area."
A third boy, who is 14 years old, was questioned and released, police said.
Majors was remembered at a funeral service on Saturday. Her father, Inman Majors, wrote a heartfelt letter on behalf of the family about this daughter that was printed in the program.
"The family is heartbroken and will miss her so very much. But they feel her presence currently more than her absence and feel the love and support they've received from around the world," the letter read.
Since Majors' death, the NYPD has deployed additional police officers to patrol the neighborhood as robberies allegedly committed by teens in Manhattan and the Bronx have "spiked."
