New York (United States) (AFP) - The accused murderer of a young girl whose death haunted New York for more than two decades pleaded not guilty, with the defendant's lawyer contesting an apparent confession.
Restaurant worker Conrado Juarez, 52, was identified last month as the alleged killer and cousin of four-year-old victim Anjelica Castillo. He faces at least 25 years in prison if convicted.
Police said he confessed to sexually abusing the girl, smothering her and then disposing of the body, which was found stuffed inside a picnic cooler 22 years ago.
Juarez's lawyer Michael Croce, speaking to journalists, said his client was quizzed for around 16 hours, with questionable results.
"We are contesting the validity, the credibility of the statements that Mr Juarez is alleged to have made," the attorney said.
"This alleged confession is completely suspect, and after additional investigation, I hope I will be able to show that this was the product of a police coercive interrogation and nothing more."
Juarez speaks little English and all court statements were translated in Spanish for him.
Until Juarez's arrest, the Mexican American girl victim was known only to the public as "Baby Hope," the name given to her by detectives who buried her in 1993, after none of her relatives came forward.
But police never gave up, releasing portraits of the child and calling for help from the public.
In the end, the astonishing break in the case came thanks to a tip that enabled police to track down the girl's now adult sister and her mother.
The girl had been living with her father since she was one year old.
Investigators then found the alleged murderer, a cousin who lived in the same apartment as the young victim.
Society & CultureCrime & Justicehttp://news.yahoo.com/alleged-york-child-killer-pleads-not-guilty-024641462.html
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