Emily Montgomery.Photo: Facebook
A young North Carolina mom has been missing since Thanksgiving — and now a man she had dated is accused of killing her, say police.
Emily Montgomery, a 26-year-old single mother, was last seen on Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving, at about 10 p.m. at her home in Apex, near Raleigh, according to a release from the Apex Police Department.
Her worried family reported her missing on Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving.
On Wednesday, a warrant for the arrest of Jose Carlos Jacome-Granizo, 29, of Raleigh, was served in connection with Montgomery’s murder, police wrote in the release. He is charged with first-degree murder.
U.S. Marshalls helped arrest Jacome-Granizo at his apartment in Raleigh,WNCN reports.
Jose Carlos Jacome-Granizo.Raleigh Police Department
If convicted, he faces life in prison or the death penalty.
“We are very sad for the family,” Apex Police Department Deputy Chief Mitchell McKinney tells PEOPLE. “We hate that this happened.”
Jacome-Granizo has not yet entered a plea. It is unclear whether he has retained an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
Police began investigating Montgomery’s disappearance on Nov. 27.
“Apex Police Detectives developed additional information and evidence over the course of the following week during the investigation that led to identifying Jacome-Granizo as a person of interest,” the release says.
Police have been unable to locate her body, say authorities.
Montgomery said Jacome-Granizo “did have a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship” at some point, Mitchell says.
It is unclear whether they had broken up or if they were still dating when Montgomery was killed.
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The suspect’s neighbor, Carolina Niblock,told WNCNthat she had seen Montgomery at the suspect’s apartment a handful of times since October.
“I did not know she was murdered,” she told WNCN. “I’ve seen her around prior to her murder to it’s really shocking.”
As police continue to investigate, Montgomery’s family is grieving her loss.
Amy Montgomery told WRAL that her daughter"was a pure joy … There are countless memories of how proud she made me."
Emily Montgomery.Facebook
Montgomery leaves behind a 5-year-old son.
“She love that kid more than anything,” her friend, Jamie Boyd,told WRAL. “That was her whole, entire world. That was her motivating force for everything in life.”
source: people.com
