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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Two weeks after a pregnant mother was found slain behind a convenience store, authorities still have no suspects in her death, despite getting a flood of calls after a plea for help was published in the national newspaper she delivered.
Jennifer Nielsen, a 22-year-old mother of two from suburban Fuquay-Varina, was expecting a third child in early July. She was killed in the early morning hours of June 14 while delivering USA Today to stores.
Among several injuries, an autopsy showed the former Utah woman had been stabbed in the neck. Authorities said Wednesday they found a knife near the crime scene.
"We're struggling through it day by day," said Nielsen's father, Kevin Blaine. "I can't tell you what we're going to do tomorrow, how we're going to prepare ourselves for the rest of our lives with that void. But we're just going to keep going on."
On Monday, USA Today published a full-page ad detailing the incident, including a possible witness sketch provided by authorities. That advertising slot usually costs more than $100,000. The paper ran a quarter-page ad Wednesday and planned another full-page spot for Thursday.
"We want to do everything we can to help catch the person who did this," USA Today spokeswoman Heidi Zimmerman said.
Nielsen's husband, Tim, said it was a "big relief" knowing that the newspaper was trying to help.
But while Raleigh police said the attention has triggered phone calls, it hasn't led to a solid suspect.
"All the attention that this case is getting is potentially helpful because we are still working to generate information from the public," police spokesman Jim Sughrue said. "Detectives potentially only need one piece of information to put them in the right direction."
Nielsen was buried last weekend in Salt Lake City. Nielsen, her husband and her children -- 11-month-old Caiden and Skylar, 3, -- lived in Utah before moving to North Carolina in August.
Nielsen's death comes as Wake County authorities continue to investigate the case of Michelle Young, a 29-year-old pregnant mother found beaten to death in her home in November. Her 2-year-old daughter was found there unharmed.
No one has been arrested, and authorities have said little about the investigation. Search warrants indicate detectives have struggled to get information from Young's husband, Jason, who was about 200 miles away in the mountain town of Brevard when his wife's body was found.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
