Police say La’Niyah Clark was hidden for weeks before she was killed and her body was left behind a South Wilkes-Barre garage.
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — A Wilkes-Barre woman has been charged with criminal homicide, kidnapping and abuse of a corpse in the death of her 15-year-old niece, La’Niyah Clark, ending months of public anger and questions in a case that gripped northeastern Pennsylvania.
Authorities said Tuesday that Bobbiejo Etzel, 37, hid Clark from her family and investigators for weeks after the girl disappeared in January, then killed her on Feb. 11 and later dumped her body in a snow-covered area behind a commercial garage on Thayer Street. The charges mark a major turn in a case that drew rallies, online speculation and repeated criticism of the search for the deaf teenager known to relatives as Lala.
Investigators said the case began to tighten after Clark vanished from her family home on Jan. 17 in Wilkes-Barre. Relatives told police they had seen her around 11 a.m., with no obvious signs of distress. By about 5 p.m., when she was called for dinner, she was gone. Her adoptive father reported her missing at 6:53 p.m., and police entered her information into the National Crime Information Center that night, including details about her hearing aids and a necklace relatives said she wore often. Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce said that what looked at first like a runaway case soon became something more troubling. At a Tuesday news conference, Sanguedolce said the investigation later showed Clark remained alive for more than three weeks after she disappeared and was being concealed from police.
According to investigators, Etzel was already barred from contact with Clark after a Jan. 13 Protection From Abuse hearing in Luzerne County. Officials said Clark was upset by that order, which separated her from her biological aunt and cousins. In the days that followed, tips repeatedly pointed police toward Etzel. On Jan. 20, Plains Township officers responded to the Extended Stay America hotel on Route 315 after receiving information that Clark might be there with her aunt. Police did not find the teen during that visit, but prosecutors said the investigation later determined Clark had in fact been inside the room, actively hiding while Etzel concealed her presence. Sanguedolce said later witness statements and video evidence showed Clark was eventually held at a home on New Alexander Street, where she was restrained, denied food for stretches of time, forced to use a bucket as a toilet and mocked by Etzel.
The body discovered on Feb. 21 behind a garage rented by Clark’s adoptive father at first created new confusion in the case. Officials said the remains were found in a pile of snow, without the hearing aids and necklace that had been central to the missing person description. Sanguedolce said the condition of the body made an immediate identification difficult and initially appeared to point suspicion toward the adoptive family. Investigators now say evidence at the scene instead led them back to Etzel. Surveillance video showed a woman with what prosecutors described as a distinctive gait pushing a wheeled cart carrying a heavy object inside a gray tote. Police later matched the tote and the cart to evidence recovered in the investigation, and a landlord identified Etzel as a tenant on New Alexander Street. Prosecutors said items left at the dump site were tied to that residence, raising the possibility that the killer was trying to misdirect the investigation.
Authorities said the case became stronger after they searched the New Alexander Street property and nearby trash area and located a witness who told investigators she saw Etzel kill Clark by suffocating her with a plastic bag. Prosecutors also said Etzel admitted leaving the home with Clark’s body and returning hours later, though she denied responsibility for the killing. Sanguedolce said police believe Etzel killed the teen because she feared criminal consequences and the possible loss of custody of her own children. He also said investigators reviewed social media posts and interviews they believe were filled with false statements and efforts to steer suspicion toward others. On the day Clark’s body was found, officials said, Etzel packed a U-Haul and left for Maryland. She was later arrested at a hotel in Hagerstown after a sealed warrant was issued Feb. 26.
Police said a search after that arrest turned up Clark’s hearing aids, her necklace and clothing authorities believe Etzel wore while disposing of the body. Prosecutors said the teen’s cause of death was officially confirmed on April 20 as asphyxiation. At her arraignment Tuesday before Magisterial District Judge Richard Cronauer, Etzel was ordered held without bail and returned to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility. She had previously been jailed on lesser counts tied to interference with custody and corruption of minors. Officials said more people may still face scrutiny, though no additional charges were announced Tuesday. Family members attended the news conference but did not speak. Sanguedolce said they asked not to be contacted afterward.
The case has also drawn attention to the tense atmosphere surrounding the search. Mayor George Brown said detectives had worked for months under intense public pressure and amid what he called falsehoods spreading online. Police Chief Michael Boyle said social media rumors forced investigators to chase claims that did not pan out, costing time and resources in a difficult homicide inquiry. At the same time, Clark’s family had publicly pressed police for answers after the teenager disappeared and before her remains were identified. Their frustration became part of the story long before the homicide charges were filed. Tuesday’s announcement did not erase those questions, but it gave the public its first detailed account of what authorities say happened during the weeks Clark was missing.
The case now moves into the court system as Etzel remains jailed and investigators continue examining whether anyone else helped hide Clark or mislead police. The next major step is a preliminary hearing and any additional filings tied to the homicide case.
Author note: Last updated April 22, 2026.