The parents of murdered Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich reached out to the public Monday during a press conference with GOP lobbyist Jack Burkman.
Rich was shot twice in the back and killed in Washington D.C. on July 10 during what police have called a “botched robbery” – although Rich’s watch, cell phone and wallet were not taken during the encounter.
As reported by Fox 5 DC, a $25,000 reward has been offered by police while Burkman himself has offered $100,000 for any information leading to an arrest.
During the press conference, Mary, Rich’s mother, pleaded to anyone with knowledge of the murder to come forward.
“You have two people who shot my son twice in the back,” she said. “We’re not going to stop until we find my son’s murderer. We will find his murderer, but we need all of you.”
The death of Rich first garnered widespread attention in August after WikiLeaks, who had begun publishing hacked DNC emails just one month prior, offered a $20,000 reward for information “leading to conviction for the murder…”
ANNOUNCE: WikiLeaks has decided to issue a US$20k reward for information leading to conviction for the murder of DNC staffer Seth Rich.
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) August 9, 2016
Shortly after, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange fueled speculation that Rich was the source of the DNC documents during an interview on Dutch television.
“Whistle-blowers go to significant efforts to get us material and often very significant risks,” Assange said. “As a 27-year-old, works for the DNC, was shot in the back, murdered just a few weeks ago for unknown reasons as he was walking down the street in Washington.”
After false Internet rumors began to spread claiming Rich had been in contact with the FBI over DNC corruption, Assange clarified his comments by stating that they “should not be taken to imply that Seth Rich was a source to WikiLeaks or to imply that his murder is connected to our publications.”
Our original and only statement on the murder of US Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich. #DNCLeak pic.twitter.com/Qsjfyb696p
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) August 11, 2016
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