Fighting for Fanta: Fairfax County law enforcement continues search for most wanted killers
FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (FOX 5 DC) - It’s been nearly 20 years since a horrifying discovery in Fairfax County: Children found the body of a 19-year-old college student along a creek bed in Annandale.
In 2002, Fanta Moses was a recent graduate of Annandale High School who was working as a nurse aide and getting her degree.
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Police believe she was killed by her ex-boyfriend, Momodu Jalloh, days before she was supposed to testify against him in a stalking case.
Since then, police say the search for Jalloh has spanned three continents, and he’s among the suspected killers Fairfax County considers their most wanted.
Moses’ cousin, Isha Dura, refers to Moses as her sister, describing her as humble, funny and someone who was always in touch with her family.
"From the day she went missing, I right away know something is wrong," said Dura. "Something evil has happened to her."
Moses was last seen alive on December 11, 2002 after she finished her shift at Sunrise Assisted Living in Fairfax.
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Fairfax Co. Det. Chris Flanagan says she left work at 10:15 p.m. with plans to attend a prayer service at 11 p.m.
"We know she never made it to the prayer service that night. And she didn’t make it home that night either," said Flanagan.
He said police immediately suspected Jalloh because he had continued to terrorize Moses after she broke off their relationship.
Two months prior, Flanagan said Jalloh showed up at Northern Virginia Community College forcing Moses to call police and then following her home.
"He actually put a gun to her head," Flanagan said. "He was threatening her and pulling her by the hair, attempting to abduct her."
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Jalloh was arrested, facing stalking, abduction and gun charges. But he was freed on bond. Police say he started calling Moses asking her to drop the case. Dura says he even called her.
"He said for me to talk to Fanta to drop the case," Dura said. ‘I’m like, ‘Why do you want me to talk to my sister? You want me to connive with you to kill my sister?’ Those were my exact words to him."
Jalloh got his wish. When Moses never showed up to testify, the case was dropped. He was free and clear until four months after Moses went missing.
That’s when some boys playing by Indian Run Stream discovered a badly decomposed body.
"I saw it on the news. I just burst into crying after that," Dura said.
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Police still can’t say how Moses died because of the condition of her body after the time that passed.
Investigators got an arrest warrant for Jalloh, but he had disappeared.
Police say they’ve conducted an international search to include Sierra Leone, where both he and Moses are originally from.
"Holland, Guinea, but also within the U.S, sightings in New York, Ohio and North Carolina," said Flanagan.
He’s on this list of 16 most wanted murder suspects that police want people to see.
"We don’t know where they are and we need the community’s help," said Fairfax Major Ed O’Carroll.
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He says police are still working for the victims in these cases as well as the dozens of cold cases in the county where investigators don’t know who committed the homicide.
"The families deserve justice," said O’Carroll.
After all these years, Dura thought the search for her cousin’s killer was over.
"Thank you all so much," she said through tears. "We are very grateful to know you are still fighting for Fanta. That we are not alone."
Police say whether you have information about these cases from two weeks or 20 years ago, they want to hear from you.