Mom of slain Abington teen out on bail

The Montgomery County mother named as "a person of interest" in the death and dismemberment of her teen daughter is out of jail on bail.

Sara Packer, 41, who still faces child-endangerment and obstruction-of-law charges, posted bail Friday, court records show.

Grace Packer, 14, disappeared in July. Her mother reported the disappearance to police, but then allegedly became hard to reach and uncooperative in the investigation, which led to the endangerment charges.

Grace's body was found by two hunters in a park in Luzerne County on Oct. 31.

Last week, the district attorneys of Bucks, Montgomery, and Luzerne Counties solicited the public's help in finding evidence, asking anyone who had recently seen or talked to Grace or Sara Packer to call Bucks County authorities.

Bucks County District Attorney Matt D. Weintraub, whose office is heading the investigation, on Tuesday again urged potential witnesses or tipsters to come forward.

"We're very hopeful that the public's going to help us solve this murder," he said.

Sara Packer had been held in the county jail since Nov. 12. A judge last week agreed to lower her bail from $200,000 to $10,000.

Weintraub did not label Packer a flight risk, but said, "I was certainly more confident that she wasn't going anywhere when she was in jail than I am now."

Details in court documents paint a murky picture of the life of the family, which prosecutors said was "somewhat transient."

In 2011, Grace's father, David Packer, pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a minor in Lehigh County, court records show and officials confirmed.

Sara Packer was separated from him; at the time of Grace's disappearance, she and her two children lived with her boyfriend, Jacob Sullivan, and another woman, Katherine Allbright, according to the police affidavit.

On a Facebook account that appeared to belong to Allbright, the woman identified herself as "poly" and had once posted a petition relating to polyamorous relationships. She had tagged Packer and Sullivan in other posts.

Weintraub would not comment on whether the three had been romantically involved, or whether Sullivan or Allbright had been questioned in the investigation.

"If they have information to share with us about Grace's murder, we would love to hear it from them," he said Tuesday.

Anyone with information can contact Bucks County detectives at 215-945-3100 or buckscrimetips@buckscounty.org.

jmcdaniel@philly.com

610-313-8205

@McDanielJustine