Police are looking for this man, who they believe may have information vital to the Nielsen murder investigation.
FUQUAY-VARINA, N.C. -- Raleigh Police need help finding a man they believe might have information that could help them figure out who killed a young, pregnant mother.
Police say the man is in his late teens or early twenties, about 5’3” and weighs about 120 pounds. He has black hair, pulled back into a long ponytail, and was wearing a dark colored sleeveless shirt and baggy blue jean shorts.
22-year old Jennifer Nielsen, known as Jenna to her friends and family, was delivering newspapers to the AmeriKing Food Mart in Raleigh early Thursday morning.
Around 5 a.m. police found her body behind the business.
She leaves behind a husband, Tim; and two young sons; 3-year old Schyler and 11-month old Kaiden. She was eight months pregnant with her third son, whom she had already named Ethen.
Nielsen’s family has struggled with how to tell the young boys about her death.
Police trying to find.
“I've been telling him mommy and Ethen are looking down on us from heaven,” said Sharlee Kubota, Nielsen’s sister.
Raleigh Police have not released many details about the case. They worry releasing that information could jeopardize their investigation.
“There are probably things about that scene that would be known only to the suspect,” explained Jim Sughrue, a spokesman for the Raleigh Police Department. “There is nothing at this point that would cause us to believe that it was anything other than a random act.”
Police still actively searched for clues Friday. They walked along the railroad tracks behind the business.
Investigators thought they might have had a break in the case, when a Spanish-speaking man called 911 around 1:30 a.m. Friday morning. The caller said he had information about the case. But when police arrived, he was gone. Afterwards, investigators dusted the phone booth for fingerprints, hoping to eventually find the man who made that call.
The AmeriKing Food Mart re-opened for business Friday, after remaining closed all day Thursday. But you could still see evidence of Thursday's crime scene, like fingerprinting dust on the USA Today newspaper stand.
Meanwhile, Nielsen's family is devastated by the tragedy. They desperately want police to find the killer.
Despite losing his wife and unborn son, Nielsen’s husband, Tim said he has two very special reasons to carry on.
“We're gonna keep going,” he said. “We really have no other choice. I have two boys that I have to take care of.”