UPPERVILLE, Va. (AP) -- Authorities have ruled the death of a Winchester Star reporter as a homicide.

The newspaper (http://bit.ly/QR8rbP) says the Manassas Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that Sarah Libbey Greenhalgh died from a gunshot to her neck as the result of a homicide.

The 48-year-old Greenhalgh was found dead in her burning home in Upperville on July 9.

Fauquier County Sheriff's Office Lt. James N. Hartman tells the newspaper that the investigation is continuing and the case remains the department's top priority.

Greenhalgh's mother, Sara Lee Greenhalgh of Poolesville, Md., says she believes an arrest will be made.

The mother tells the newspaper that she thinks about her daughter all the time. She says it's comforting to know that she has support from family, friends and the community.