Thread: TX: Neighbor arrested in rape, strangulation of 13-year-old

the article does not say this, but two local radio stations are reporting the suspect has been put on an ICE HOLD

Neighbor arrested in rape, strangulation of 13-year-old Arlington girl
By MITCH MITCHELL and NATHANIEL JONES
njones@star-telegram.com


ARLINGTON — A 24-year-old man was arrested Wednesday night in the strangulation and rape of 13-year-old Elizabeth Villa in her bedroom Sunday night, police reported

Rodrigo Sanchez, who lives in the same apartment complex in the 2000 block of Cherry Drive, was in the Arlington Jail late Wednesday with bail set at $1 million.

He faces a capital murder charge, according to the police Web site.

It was the first time police disclosed the cause of the seventh-grader’s death since she was found Monday morning by her mother.

The window to her ground-floor room had been opened, and an armoire in front of the window had been pushed away, according to the arrest-warrant affidavit.

Palm prints and fingerprints were found on the window and frame and on the armoire, investigators wrote in the affidavit.

The prints led police to Sanchez, who has a criminal record, said Lt. Blake Miller, a police spokesman. Details of his record could not be learned late Wednesday.

Detectives got a warrant about 8 p.m. and arrested Sanchez at the complex about 9 p.m., Miller said.

The Villa family doesn’t know Sanchez, Miller said. Neither Emma Villa, Elizabeth’s mother, nor her brother recognized Sanchez in a photo lineup, according to the affidavit.

The mother and brother were in other rooms of the apartment when Elizabeth Villa was killed, Miller said.

Being more cautious

Sylvester Lopez, who lives above the Villas, said Wednesday that he arrived from work shortly after midnight Sunday and didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.

"I came home, ate something and smoked a cigarette on the balcony," Lopez said. "Had someone pulled up in a car while I was out there, I would have noticed."

On Wednesday afternoon, several adults were standing on second-floor balconies watching investigators come and go.

"Before Monday, you would see kids hanging out at night," said Jerry Robbins, who has lived at the complex for more than nine years. "That was a wake-up call for parents, because you don’t see kids hanging out at night anymore. I think parents felt like their kids were safe as long as they were nearby, but not anymore."

Apartment resident Pedro Diaz says he felt safe at the complex because police are so near.

"Why would someone do this so close to the police station?" Diaz said Wednesday. "This is just too bad."

A search of the Arlington police’s online crime statistics database shows 57 crimes were reported during the past year at the apartment complex, including an armed robbery call last month. The complex is home to many lower-income residents; monthly rent is between $500 and $650 for one- and two-bedroom units.

Early Wednesday morning, two 18-year-olds and a 17-year-old were arrested at the complex on suspicion of breaking into cars there. Two were still in the Arlington Jail on Wednesday afternoon. Both face charges of burglary and engaging in an organized criminal act, and one was being held on suspicion of resisting police.

Police say those arrests are not related to the homicide.

The scene at school

A few students outside Hutcheson after school Wednesday said those who knew Villa were hit hard by her death, crying in the school’s hallways.

Lourdes Picaco, whose daughter is an eighth-grader at Hutcheson, said she was shocked to learn of the homicide.

"I got scared because we used to live in those apartments four or five years ago," she said, adding that the apartments didn’t seem safe.

Picaco and another Hutcheson parent, Claudia Torralba, said they’ve talked with their children about personal safety after Villa’s death. Lessons like not opening the door to strangers now bear repeating, Picaco said.

"You don’t expect it to hit so close to home," Torralba said. "You hear about it on TV, but for it to happen in your own school. It’s shocking.  . . . It’s sad."


http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/1294109.html

Picaco and another Hutcheson parent, Claudia Torralba, said they’ve talked with their children about personal safety after Villa’s death. Lessons like not opening the door to strangers now bear repeating, Picaco said.

Doesn't appear the monster bothered to knock.....he broke in. Oh but please.....ignore the criminal element and pretend it isn't rampent.

WHAT Obama's chosen people (illegals) killed someone? huh?
Ding, ding, ding COME AND GET IT ILLEGAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He now qualify's for a home, food, license, and FREE medical!

This just makes me sick. When are lawmakers going DEPORT ILLEGAL ALIENS? Sexual crimes are on the rise and IMO the majority of them are done by illegal aliens. My prayers go out to the girl's family.