Conrado Juarez, a relative of “Baby Hope”--a small girl who was found dead in Manhattan in 1991--reportedly confessed to killing the girl 22 years ago.
NBC New York said that Juarez, 52, is believed to be a cousin of the girl, whose real name is Anjelica Castillo.
Police officials told CNN that he was arrested in Manhattan, where he worked as a dishwasher.
They said that a tipster came forward and identified him.
“Today, NYPD investigators have given young Angelica her due justice,” said spokesman Phil Pulaski.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the man confessed to sexually assaulting Castillo before smothering her to death. His sister came into the room and told him to get rid of the body and even brought him a cooler to get rid of it, NBC reported.
The two then took a livery cab from the Bronx and dumped the cooler with Castillo’s body inside near the Hudson River in Manhattan’s Washington Heights. Castillo’s body was found by construction workers in July 1991.
Kelly said Juarez’s sister is no longer alive.
Since then, her death has remained a cold case until police officials carried out DNA testing to find her mother and relatives this year. This week, “Baby Hope’s” real name was revealed.
Her mother’s identity was also revealed, and she told authorities she was afraid to go to police in fear of her husband. Her husband is believed to be living in Mexico.
“A DNA match was made with the mother and the mother has been cooperating,” Kelly told CBS earlier this week about the case.
“This has been an investigation that has been conducted for the last 22 years, and the detectives in the 34th Precinct Detective Squad and Cold Case Squad did great work. And I’m proud of them,” Kelly added, according to the New York Post.
The age of the child is believed to have been between 3 and 5.
