By Sarah Light, staff writer

Officials with the Rochester Police Department announced Monday they will give a press conference Wednesday morning to provide an update on the suspected murder case of 27-year-old Hayward native April Sorensen.

While previous press conferences related to the incident have been held in Rochester, this conference will be in Albert Lea at the Freeborn County Government Center.

In addition to providing a report, officials will introduce a group of local concerned citizens who have raised funds to increase the reward in the case, said Rochester Police Capt. Brian Winters.

Sorensen was found dead upstairs in the home she shared with her husband at 4809 22nd Ave. N.W. in Rochester on the afternoon of April 17, after a man arriving there to perform routine pre-scheduled maintenance work saw heavy smoke through a window in the home.

A 1998 Albert Lea High School graduate, Sorensen was best known for playing basketball and volleyball. Her parents are Jon and Sandra Larson of Hayward. Her husband, who grew up in Alden, is not a suspect.

A few days after the incident, the Olmsted County coroner said that Sorensen had died as a result of &8220;both blunt and sharp force injury.&8221;

Police believe the killer set the house on fire to cover up the crime. The fire was limited to the upstairs bedroom.