Stabbed 8-Year-Old Girl Possible New Lead: Sheriff Now States Assault Was Intentional, Sex Offenders Interviewed

An 8-year-old girl was stabbed in her home last weekend in Valley Springs, California. Today, the Calaveras County sheriff released a statement that says the stabbing of the eight-year-old was intentional, rather than a botched robbery or accident.

On Saturday afternoon, third-grader Leila Fowler, 8, was stabbed to death in Valley Springs, CA, a small, rural community sixty miles east of Sacramento.

The intruder has been given vague, conflicting descriptions: police have said he is a muscular, 6-foot male, with long, graying hair. He is either white or Latino and was wearing a black, long-sleeved shirt and blue pants. Fowler's 12-year-old brother saw the man, who subsequently ran away on foot, then found his sister. However, different descriptions exist of the man, making it difficult to produce an accurate drawing.

Sheriff Gary Kuntz said officers "will not rest until we capture the responsible person" at a press conference.  "This is a sad time in Calaveras County...We are doing everything possible to apprehend the person responsible for the murder of this 8-year-old girl."

Investigators have interviewed registered sex offenders. They have not released statements indicating whether sexual assault is part of the case. Jim Macedo, Calaveras County Sheriff's Capt, said "They have been interviewed and in some cases they have been photographed and in some cases they have been searched."

As many as 100 police officers and volunteers searched homes, outbuildings, and gulches in Leila's rural neighborhood. Metal detectors were also used near the Fowler home.

Authorities had called for residents to "shelter in place" during the first two days of the search for Leila's killer; several in the community of about 3,500 are still keeping their children indoors.

One resident, Jeanne White. said "It's just scary. This is a place where people don't usually lock their doors."

Kelly Dillon, another resident, said, "Usually you can hear kids playing and running around in the backyards up and down the streets with their skateboards.  And it's just been still. Very still."

"We did collect fingerprints during that search," Sherriff Macedo said, "and we did collect what we believe to be DNA. Those prints and DNA will hopefully be processed within the next week."

Leila's parents were too overwhelmed to speak during the news conference.