More questions than answers in Seattle teen’s murder

A reward is in place for a tip that solves the seemingly random shooting death of a 15-year-old Seattle girl walking along a road in Lake Stevens Saturday night.

Liz Allen, with CrimesStoppers of Puget Sound, says friends of Molly Conley hope to increase the reward fund, which tops out at $1,000.

If you have any information, you can call CrimeStoppers at 1-900-222-tips, the Lake Stevens Tip Line, 425-377-3214, or the Snohomish County Major Crimes Unit, 425-388-3845.

Conley’s family is still left with more questions than answers as investigators try to piece together what happened the night she was killed.

Investigators are looking for any surveillance footage that might have been taken in the area of the shooting and hoping more witnesses come forward, but so far Shari Ireton with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office tells KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson there’s still a lot they don’t know about that night, like whether or not this was a random shooting.

“We’re trying to piece together all the evidence that has being provided through witness reports and evidence that’s being gathered. It’s hard to say whether it was random or not,” says Ireton.

Molly was a straight-A student and star athlete, who always had a smile on her face and an open heart. She was the last person anyone would expect to be the target of gang violence, but Ireton says that is a possibility they’re looking into.

“Snohomish County has had gang activity. We do have a gang task force, so it’s definitely something that we’ve kept our eye on,” says Ireton. “But at this point, there’s nothing that detectives have shared with me to say that that’s where this is going.”

The area in Lake Stevens where Molly was killed is not usually a hot-bed of criminal activity, but Ireton says violence is spreading throughout the Northwest.

“Our population is growing, so we are tending to see more serious crime taking place, even in places that we thought were quiet, suburbia communities,” says Ireton.

Investigators are also looking into whether Molly’s murder might be related to the reports that came into 911 of two other shots fired in the area Saturday night.

“Just to keep things in perspective, we get many shots fired calls late on weekend nights. Whether they’re related or not, that’s what detectives are looking into,” Ireton says.

In the meantime, Molly’s family has set up a Facebook page to remember their daughter with pictures and prayers. In just the first day it was active, more than 3,500 people had already signed on to show their support and their sorrow for the loss of such a special girl.