A 17-year-old teenager, Angel Sanches, who is an illegal immigrant in the United States, has been arrested for strangling his 5-year-old cousin, Katherina Gonzalez, to death after rapingher and leaving her body hanging in a closet.
Mail Online reports that Angel Sanches was arrested earlier this month after Katherina's body was found inside a vacant apartment in Lake Highlands, Dallas, but he had initially denied involvement in her death but later recanted and confessed to his sordid crimes.
At his first arrest, Angel had told detectives that a man who he identified only as 'Carlos' was responsible for her death.
According to police, Sanches told them his cousin followed him into the building after he was taken hostage 'Carlos'. He also claimed 'Carlos' forced him into the building at gunpoint before shutting him in the closet.
He told another investigator that he did sexually assault the girl for 'less than a minute,' but did so because the other man was holding him at gunpoint and told him to.
Police took DNA samples from Sanches and sent them away to a lab for analysis. The lab matched his DNA to some found in the girl’s underwear, reports the news website.
A witness, Freddie Washington told the police that he saw Angel Sanches lure Gonzalez into the abandoned housing block, telling the girl 'Come on, come on,' before the pair disappeared inside.
According to reports, Gonzalez was staying with her uncle at the time of the attack because both of her parents were at work.
Officers were called to reports that Gonzalez had gone missing, and after a thorough search found her body hanging in the closet.
Sanches has now been charged with aggravated sexual assault in addition to capital murder.
