After being hunted by police for 22 years, a man accused in the slaying of a toddler known as “Baby Hope” died in a New York jail, according to reports.
Juarez admitted to police that he smothered the girl nearly 30 years ago, the Daily News noted. In 2013, he made the confession, saying he disposed of the body with his sister’s help. When the girl was discovered in July 1991, there were signs of abuse.
Detectives called her “Baby Hope” because they wanted to know her identity and find her killer. On her headstone at Raymond’s Cemetery in the Bronx, which NYPD investigators paid for, it reads, “Because we care.”
The New York Times reported that Juarez had been held at Rikers Island until 2015, when he was transferred to Rockland County jail for his own safety. Rockland County jail officials could not immediately be reached for comment, according to The Associated Press.
Juarez was due in court in Manhattan in January. He faced a felony charge of second-degree murder, which he had pleaded not guilty to.
Anjelica’s identity was unknown for more than two decades, and her parents never reported her missing. In 2013, though, a tipster led police to the girl’s sister, and DNA helped authorities identify Anjelica’s mother.
Raymond Kelly, New York City’s police commissioner at the time, said in October 2013 that Juarez was questioned and admitted abusing and killing Anjelica. Juarez and told police his sister helped him dump the girl’s body.
In 2013, Juarez claimed that he was coerced into confessing and recanted his statement, the New York Times reported. “I told the police that I put a pillow over her face and killed her,” he said. “But it wasn’t like that.” He that at one point in 1995 he returned back to Mexico after his sister died and later smuggled himself back into the United States, paying a smuggler $800, according to the New York Times.
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