Stepfather facing murder charges in death of 13-year-old Vail girl

Tucson police have arrested the stepfather in the death of 13-year-old Jayden Glomb, officials said Wednesday.

Joshua Lelevier, 37, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder and abandoning/concealing a dead body, said Sgt. Pete Dugan, a Tucson Police Department spokesman, at a news conference.

Homicide detectives conducted a search of Jayden Glomb's Vail home on Wednesday. Lelevier was taken into custody at the main police station downtown, Dugan said. 

Lelevier was being booked into the Pima County jail on Wednesday night.

Jayden's body was found May 11 along the side of a road in Vail. The Old Vail Middle School seventh-grader went missing from her home the night before, police said.

Police said Jayden's cause of death was asphyxiation.

Dugan said Jayden was not killed at the location where her body was found. He said the arrest was made after detectives gathered enough probable cause, without going into details.

Jayden lived at the home in the southeast side with her mother and Lelevier. Dugan said there does not appear to be any other suspects in the slaying.

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According to multiple posts on Facebook, Jayden was last seen in Vail at 10:30 p.m. May 10.

On May 11, photos of her were widely circulated on Facebook forums for residents of Vail and Rita Ranch, and the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base branch of the 943rd Rescue Group, where Jayden’s mother is employed, posted a “be on the lookout” for the girl.

Homicide detectives began investigating the suspicious death after a body was found in a desert area near a new housing development near East Mary Ann Cleveland Way and Steve Street, Dugan said at the time.

Based on the condition of the body, it appeared she died recently, Dugan said.

A worker at the housing development, which is about 2 miles east of Houghton Road, was driving out of the area when he saw what he believed to be a body in the desert area. He called 911 .

Posted on the Vail School District Facebook page was a statement through a representative of Jayden's family. "We appreciate the love and compassion of everyone who has surrounded Joshua and Jessica Lelevier, Robert Glomb, and their families following the loss of their daughter."

"Vail, our Air Force and Air Force Reserve communities, 943rd Rescue Group, and so many others have poured out prayers and sent love and light to everyone involved. Thank you."