Teen girl who was reported missing two years ago reappears and is arrested for murder
Gerrard Kaonga
Featured Image Credit: Durham County Jail
A teenager from Florida who was reported missing two years ago has been arrested following a deadly shooting.
Grace Elizabeth Faye Landa was arrested on August 19 after an incident that saw two women and one man get shot.
The Durham Police Department has said the shooting occurred on May 30 around midnight in the 1600 block of Rowemont Drive, near the entrance of Whippoorwill Park.
All three people who were shot were inside the same vehicle, and the man has been confirmed to have died from his injuries.
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Authorities have said the man is 23-year-old Christopher Piedrasanta-Perez of Durham.
Landa was identified as a suspect and was charged with murder for Piedrasanta-Perez's death; however, the warrant for her arrest does not say if she is also suspected of shooting the two women.
It also does not clarify whether she was in the car at the time of the shooting.
Landa, who is now 18, was reported missing from her home in Tampa, Florida, on June 27, 2023, when she was 16.
While Landa was missing, officials said they had reason to believe she was traveling to Durham.
Piedrasanta-Perez's mother Amalia has spoken to local media and admitted to having many questions and concerns about the death of her son.
Speaking to CBS17, his family said he was a Southern High School graduate and worked at a FedEx warehouse.
She said: “He was just a fun brother, friend, grandson, and son to be around. Always with that big smile.
“He was my first baby. Since everything happened, there’s not been a day where I don’t go see his grave. We’re always there. It’s just been so hard, we haven’t stopped going to see him.”
She has also said that investigators have told her that other suspects are still at large; however, she feels some comfort knowing that one suspect has already been arrested.
She continued: “I have faith they will get punished for what they did because my son didn’t deserve this.
“He was not out there looking for trouble. I really don’t know why this happened. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“Why his car. That’s literally my car, the one I drive every day to take my kids to work. Why that car? Why was his car targeted?”
Landa remains in the Durham County Jail without bond.
She made her first court appearance earlier this week and is scheduled to return to court on September 11.