UPDATE 12:45PM
Alameda County Jail records indicate Giselle Diwag Esteban, a 27-year-old reported friend of Michelle Le, was arrested in Union City approximately 9:50 a.m. this morning on a charge of murder, and will be arraigned Thursday at the Hayward Hall of Justice.
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Hayward police announced Wednesday morning that an arrest has been made in the Michelle Le homicide investigation.
A press conference has been scheduled for 2:15 p.m. at the Hayward Police Station.
Though the name of the suspect arrested has not yet been released, Hayward police are once again searching the home of a Union City woman believed to be a “” in the case of missing nursing student Michelle Le.
Several undercover investigators began searching the home of Giselle Esteban, located at Monterra Terrace in the Monte Vista community of Union City, shortly before 10 a.m.
An officer drove away in Esteban’s silver Honda CR-V.
Esteban did not appear to be home and officers at the scene would not comment on the nature of the investigation or her whereabouts. A call Lt. Roger Keener of the Hayward Police Department was not immediately returned.
The home has been searched at least twice before.
According to neighbors, police initially searched the home on May 28, the day after Le went missing. The home was searched again .
Esteban, 27, is a former friend of Le's from when the two were high school students in San Diego. She had a , also a friend of Le’s, on May 24, just three days before Le went missing from the Hayward Kaiser Permanente medical facility. The request barred Esteban from coming within 100 feet of her ex-boyfriend, with whom she has a 5-year-old child, or his immediate family.
The ex-boyfriend cited increasingly bizarre behavior by Esteban, including stalking him, threatening to shoot herself and entering his home uninvited.
Esteban has not spoken to media since telling KGO-TV reporters in early June that she “openly hates” Le after the two had a falling out. She also accused Le of ruining her relationship with her child’s father, but said that she had nothing to do with Le’s disappearance.
Esteban’s ex-boyfriend told Patch in a previous interview that he and Le have been close friends for nine years and that Esteban’s accusations are untrue.
Le, 26, disappeared more than three months ago during a break from her rotation at the Hayward Kaiser hospital on May 27. Police later found her car parked in a nearby neighborhood with blood inside.
Hayward Police believe Le was murdered by someone who is "not a stranger" based on evidence and information investigators have gathered.
In late July, Hayward police issued a statement saying they are in the case and that they hoped to make an arrest soon, though no timeline was given.
Patch is on the scene and will update the story as more information becomes available.
