2 teen girls named as persons of interest in Utah stabbing death
Published at
Pat Reavy, KSL.com
WASHINGTON, Utah (KSL.com) — Two teenage girls have been named as persons of interest in the stabbing death of a woman in a southern Utah rental property.
Police say they want to talk to Abigael Paige Flanagan, 17, who also goes by the name “Jay,” and Mihaela Gabriela Sorescu, 16, who also goes by the name “Bella.” The two girls are the last known people to see a 47-year-old woman alive.
Both girls were charged earlier this week in 5th District Court with obstruction of justice. Their names disappeared from court records, however, after KSL.com made inquires about their cases, likely because the cases were sealed.
Police said Wednesday that the girls are not considered “suspects” in the homicide investigation. Investigators hope the girls can give them a better idea of what happened and if anyone else was in the rental.
“We want them to come talk to us to understand what went down,” Washington Police Lt. Kory Klotz said Wednesday.
On Sunday, a 47-year-old woman was found by cleaners in a rental home in the 1200 Block of North Bello Aly. Police say she was stabbed more than a dozen times. Her name has not yet been released.
The rental car the victim was driving was found early Sunday in Bellflower, California. Klotz says investigators believe the girls drove the vehicle to California before abandoning it. Detectives believe the girls are still in California, possibly in the Sacramento area. Court records list Flanagan as being from Sheridan, California.
The girls had been in Utah since March 20 sightseeing, which also included a trip to Las Vegas, Klotz said. A flyer released Wednesday by police shows them together Saturday night, hours before the victim is believed to have been stabbed.
Klotz says the relationship between the girls and the woman, who were apparently in Utah together, is part of the ongoing investigation. He said there were no signs of forced entry at the rental property.
Klotz says police have not been able to locate the girls since finding the rental car. Anyone with information about their whereabouts is asked to call police at 435-634-5730.
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