The New York Times
DANBURY, Conn. - Investigators found the body of a 13-year-old Danbury girl in Greenwich early today after a man she met over the Internet told them where to look, the police said.
The United States attorney, John A. Danaher III, said the man, identified as Saul Dos Reis, 25, was arrested on a federal charge of using an interstate device — the Internet — to entice a child into sexual activity.
Other charges were not immediately filed. But Mr. Danaher said that Mr. Dos Reis, who was arraigned on the Internet charge in federal court Monday morning, had confessed to the killing.
Mr. Danaher initially said the admission came in open court, but the Justice Department later clarified the statement, saying that Mr. Dos Reis had confessed to investigators.
“There are further steps to be taken in this investigation,” Mr. Danaher said. “But we’re confident that the arrest was very appropriate in this case.”
The body of the girl, Christina Long, was found in a remote area of Greenwich early today using information provided by Mr. Dos Reis, officials said. She was last seen Friday at the Danbury Fair Mall.
An autopsy showed that the girl had been strangled, officials said.
Mr. Dos Reis was ordered held without bond. A hearing to argue the bond was scheduled for Friday in federal court in Bridgeport, said Harold Pickerstein, Mr. Dos Reis’s lawyer.
Mr. Pickerstein would not comment on the allegations, but said he expected Mr. Dos Reis to plead not guilty to all charges. He criticized Mr. Danaher for his comments about the confession, calling them inappropriate.
“They probably would have been better off if they kept their mouths shut,” Mr. Pickerstein said. “It’s inappropriate, in my opinion, to discuss evidence in a case in which there has not even been a charge or an indictment.”