Book reveals new details in 2012 murder investigation of Amber Stanley

KETTERING, Md. - There is new information in the 2012 murder of Amber Stanley, a Prince George's County honor student shot to death by a masked man who kicked in the door to her Kettering home.

In a new book called A Good Month for Murder that will be published next week, the author has revealed details about the killing of the 17-year-old that have never been publicly disclosed.

According to this account, Stanley was standing just inside the front door of her home when the gunman kicked it in and shot her once in the arm. He then followed the teenager to her room where he shot her dead.

In the days after the murder, detectives quickly came to the conclusion the masked gunman was out for her foster sister after police viewed a threat she wrote on Facebook and learned the girl had recently been sexually assaulted. Police believed the threat was aimed at her attacker and detectives now had a theory - he had come back to the house looking for the foster sister, but found Stanley instead.

After the murder, police never disclosed that Stanley came face-to-face with the killer or that her foster sister had been sexually assaulted just days before and was very likely the intended target.

Detectives spent months investigating and interviewed dozens of people - some who became prime suspects - until DNA evidence pointed to a man who had not been questioned before.

"We brought someone in and that person is currently incarcerated on other criminal charges, not associated with this case," said Prince George's County Police Capt. Brian Reilly. "We are still looking into him. This is still an active case. Obviously no arrests have been made. It is an active and open case. We are still looking into that person and seeing if he has any kind of involvement in this murder."

When we asked Reilly if that person is a suspect in Stanley's murder, he told us, "We definitely call him a suspect in this case, but at this point do not have enough to charge him. But it is somebody we are looking into very strongly."

The DNA evidence came from blood found on the shirt of the foster sister. According to the account in the book, she fought with the man during the attack and both were cut.

Police are now in a very unusual situation in that a good deal of evidence that normally would not be released to the public is now out in this book.

The author had been embedded with the homicide division for quite some time.

Stanley's mother, Irma Gaither, has been briefed on what is in the book. On Monday, we are expected to have further details on this ongoing investigation.