SHAWSVILLE, Va. – Montgomery County is once again a place of interest in the 2006 murder of an Alabama woman.
Lori Ann Slesinski was last seen in Auburn, Alabama, in 2006. Slesinski's mother reported her missing, and her burned-out car was found the next day.
According to police, Derill Ennis, 38, knew Slesinski and became a person of interest in her murder but left Auburn after being questioned.
Ennis was then arrested last summer in Pilot, where court documents indicate he was living, according to The Associated Press.
Ennis is accused of killing the woman during a burglary and kidnapping, and has pleaded not guilty in the death of Slesinski.
In late January 2018, Alabama prosecutors announced that they would seek the death penalty for Ennis.
Now, the Virginia State Police and the U.S. Marshals Service, as well as other police agencies, have been searching a property on the Montgomery County-Floyd county line in connection with Slesinski 's disappearance.
Authorities have been searching the Pilot area for clues since Monday at the direction investigators from Auburn, Alabama.
Ennis, who is known as Rick around town, is not known to police, but neighbors say he was well-known to them.
Slesinski's remains have not been found and Ennis maintains that he's innocent.