By Taylor Muller
The Douglas County Sheriff’s office made an arrest Friday in the case of missing UNO sophomore Jessica O’Grady.
Christopher Edwards, who has been described by local media as O’Grady’s boyfriend, turned himself into the custody of the Sheriff’s office Friday afternoon. Edwards faces charges of criminal homicide and use of a weapon other than a gun to commit a felony, according to the Sheriff’s office.
Edwards has not been formally charged yet and bond has not been set, said Deputy Sheriff Marty Bilek, a UNO alumnus.
“In homicide it’s possible the judge will deny bond altogether, but it will probably be set Monday,” Bilek said. “We haven’t submitted [the formal charges] yet because, in the beginning, there was some uncertainty in the crimes that were committed.”
The Douglas County Attorney’s office is expected to review the case against Edwards this weekend and announce Monday what charges will be filed.
The arrest comes one week after Edwards’ attorney, Steve Lefler, spoke out in defense of his client.
"If you were told you were going to be arrested for murder and three and a half weeks went by, you’d say either arrest me or don’t arrest me.” Lefler said in an interview with KETV.
According to the Sheriff’s office, the long wait for an arrest was necessary to build a criminal case.
“We served two search warrants and the evidence took time to be analyzed,” Bilek said. “As it came back the case grew stronger and stronger. Then we decided that we had a strong enough case and even though we didn’t have a body, we decided to make the arrest.”
With the speculation of O’Grady being pregnant, there is the possibility of a double murder count against Edwards, Bilek said.
"If we find out she’s pregnant, we’d certainly have to look at that," Bilek said. "We have no proof that she was, but it was discussed during this investigation.”
O’Grady has been missing since May 10, and her case has received national news coverage from CNN, MSNBC and CBS.
Anyone with information related to the case should contact the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department at (402) 333-1000.
