Two Potomac teenagers lured a Gaithersburg man into a secluded area, struck him on the head with a shovel, robbed him and left him to die on a Potomac walking path in May, prosecutors alleged at a bond review hearing for one of the youths last week.
Emily Drew Geller, 18, of the 8300 block of Larkmeade Terrace, is being held without bond at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Clarksburg pending a preliminary hearing Nov. 13. Artie Ellis, 15, of the 7700 block of Scotland Drive, who court documents identify as Geller's boyfriend, was scheduled for a bond review hearing on Tuesday.
Both are charged as adults with robbing and murdering Ali Reza Zare, 57, of the 15200 block of Apricot Lane in Gaithersburg. Zare's body was found the morning of May 10 by a jogger on the Bells Mill Road walking path, located near Bells Mill Elementary School and Cabin John Middle School.
Geller was acquaintances with Zare, Assistant State's Attorney for Montgomery County Gerald Collins said at the hearing on Thursday. On May 9, several phone calls were placed between Zare's cell phone and the landline at the Potomac home where Geller lived with her parents, Donald and Madelaine, just half a mile from where Zare's body would be found the following day, court documents allege.
According to court documents, two witnesses told police that Geller told them Ellis had struck Zare in the head with the shovel and left.
"Geller stated to one of the individuals that they did not mean to kill him and further told them not to say anything about what she had told them," the documents read.
Lucille Baur, a spokeswoman for Montgomery County police, said she couldn't comment specifically as to why the arrests were made last week for the May murder. However, she said, "Our detectives believe this death was suspicious very early on in the investigation, but it did take them until yesterday to gather enough evidence to make the charges for homicide."
On Oct. 14, a search warrant was executed at Geller's home that uncovered the shovel, according to Emily White, a spokeswoman for the Montgomery County State's Attorney's office. Geller described the shovel to police in a statement before the search, White said.
The shovel is suspected to be the murder weapon, though further tests are needed, Collins said.
Collins said that after Zare was struck with a shovel, Geller and Ellis went through Zare's pockets and "left him there to die on the bike path." Court documents allege the two stole Zare's Verizon Blackberry Storm cell phone, a Macy's Visa credit card, a Maryland driver's license, cash, and a blue Subaru. The Subaru belonged to Zare's son, though he had been driving it at the time of the murder, according to court documents.
Around 1:30 p.m. on May 10, police discovered the Subaru abandoned near Seven Locks Elementary School. Witnesses said that a "young white female" left the car and ran behind the school. Later, Geller's fingerprints were found on the vehicle. That same afternoon, the Macy's credit card was used several times by a man and a woman matching Geller's and Ellis' descriptions in attempts to withdraw money from the Bank of America cash machine in Westfield Montgomery mall, court documents allege. The unsuccessful attempts were caught on mall surveillance video.
A search warrant executed at Ellis' home in May uncovered Zare's cell phone in a backpack in Ellis' room, according to court documents.
Last week's arrest was not Geller's first time in trouble with the law. She had been released on $10,000 bond in late August in relation to a previous felony theft charge. On Aug. 25, Geller was found driving a stolen vehicle along Interstate 270, according to court documents. Police said Geller was driving the car, a Volkswagen Toureg, at night with no lights on and swerving in and out of traffic. After a police officer pulled her over, she fled on foot, according to the documents. Geller later told the police a friend had given her the car and that she knew it had been stolen, the documents read. Along with felony theft, charges from that incident included reckless driving and eluding police. A trial is scheduled Dec. 10.
District Court judge James Sarsfield took the previous charge into account in his ruling. "I do have a concern for the safety of the members of the community," Sarsfield in ruling for Geller to be held without bond.
Geller's parents declined to comment.