Teen Set to Testify Against Alleged Rapist Turns Up Dead

In November, 16-year-old Mujey Dumbuya told Michigan police that her boyfriend's uncle, a groundskeeper employed by her school district, raped her in a school parking lot in Grand Rapids. According to court documents viewed by WWMT, Dumbuya described the incident as the latest in a string of rapes that started when she was 15. Quinn James, 42, was fired, arrested, charged with four counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor, and released on bond on the condition that he avoid contact with Mujey, who was to testify against him at trial in April, reports BuzzFeed News. Mujey, however, disappeared on Jan. 24, the day after James learned of his trial date, per WWMT, and she was found dead in a wooded area 50 miles from home days later.

James hasn't been charged, but WHTC and WWMT report that he is considered a person of interest in Mujey's death. On Feb. 1, he was arrested on suspicion of the 2014 rape of another teen, per WWMT. James now faces charges in that case including third-degree criminal sexual conduct and remains in custody, per WXMI and WOOD. He's previously been convicted of crimes including armed robbery and possession of a weapon while in prison. In her statements to police, Mujey said James preceded the November rape by saying, "There is something about you. I could stop, but I just can't." James reportedly admitted to investigators that he had sex with Mujey but said it was consensual. (More murder stories.)