Federal Way High School

It's less than two weeks till Christmas, but the mood at Federal Way High School couldn't be more grim.

This morning, a teenage girl was found strangled to death in the bushes above the parking lot.

The victim's nylon stockings are tied in a ligature around her neck.

When police peer through the windows, they see a drill team bag and a purse on the front passenger seat.

The vehicle is unlocked.

Officers make entry, and using the driver's license found inside the purse, detectives identify the victim as 16-year-old Federal Way High School junior Sarah Yarbrough.

As crime scene technicians comb the scene for more evidence, an ambulance arrives and Sarah's body is transported to the medical examiner's office.

Detectives make contact with her parents and deliver the devastating news that their only daughter has been murdered.