Family and Friends Bury Murdered 12-Year-Old

The family of slain 12-year-old Jessica Nguyen laid the young girl to rest today at All Souls Cemetery in Germantown after a funeral at Our Lady of Vietnam Catholic Church in Silver Spring.

Police are still investigating the murder, which happened sometime between when Nguyen returned home from school around 3 p.m. on May 31 and 7:30 that evening when she was found in her home on Raven Ave.

The sixth-grader at Gaithersburg Middle School suffered trauma to her upper body, and the Medical Examiner's Office in Baltimore ruled her death a homicide.

Beyond those scant details, Montgomery County Police have released little about the tragedy, and do not expect an additional information to be forthcoming by the end of today, a spokesperson said.

On Friday, City Public Works crews helped mow the grassy area behind the Nguyen home as detectives used metal detectors to search the area, police confirmed.

Officer Janelle Smith said she could not say what investigators were looking for.

She did add that the family has moved back into the house after police spent nearly a week sweeping for evidence.

No one has been charged in the case, and if detectives have a suspect in mind, they aren't saying.

"We haven't ruled anything out," Smith said.

The lack of information has raised concerns in the community, and rumors abound, Smith said.

"We've quelled various rumors this morning," she said. "We got one call from someone saying she may have been killed in a motor vehicle accident."

"People start to make up their own endings because there isn't much info out there right now," she added.

On Friday night, Fox5 reported that dozens of Nguyen's friends held a candle-light vigil outside her home.