Luzerne County prosecutors have charged 37-year-old Bobbiejo Etzel with criminal homicide in the death of her biological niece, La’Niyah “Lala” Clark. The announcement came during a Tuesday morning press conference at Wilkes-Barre police headquarters, marking a grim escalation in a case that began when the 14-year-old girl ran away from her adoptive family on January 17. Investigators discovered Clark’s nude and battered body on February 21, face-down in a pile of snow behind a commercial garage on Thayer Street. An autopsy revealed significant trauma, including bruising and cuts to her face and limbs, while evidence collected at the scene included a rope-like item around her wrist and a knife found beneath her remains.
Etzel was already in custody on lesser charges after being apprehended in Maryland earlier this year. Authorities previously alleged that she violated a protection-from-abuse order by encouraging the teen to flee her home and subsequently helping to conceal her whereabouts as police searched for the girl. District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce noted that Clark had been actively hiding from authorities with Etzel’s assistance prior to her death. With the filing of murder charges, prosecutors now allege that Etzel was directly responsible for the teen's killing during the period she was missing. Etzel remains held without bail as the investigation into the New Alexander Street apartment linked to the case continues. Police say the probe continues into the murder and whether any one else may have been involved.
