A New Jersey man who was charged earlier this year in the stabbing death of an 11-year-old girl now also is accused of raping her, according to a grand jury indictment.
Authorities in Monmouth County said Andreas Erazo, 18, of Keansburg, faces three counts of aggravated sexual assault on Abbiegail Smith – in addition to charges of murder, felony murder and weapons offenses in connection with the girl’s death, the Asbury Park Press reported.
If convicted, Erazo could face life in prison without parole.
The girl went missing July 12. Her body was found the next day on a roof outside a window of Erazo’s apartment, authorities have said. She died from a stab wound to the neck, an autopsy concluded.
The girl, who had just completed the fifth grade, was born in Jamaica. She came to the U.S. with her mother and two brothers in 2007, settling in Keansburg in 2015.
Her father and half-sister, who live in Jamaica, were unable to attend her funeral in New Jersey because they were both denied visas to enter the United States. The father had appealed to President Donald Trump for approval to attend the funeral, Fox News reported, but the request was denied.
Erazo was being held without bail in Monmouth County Jail in Freehold, awaiting trial. He is expected to be arraigned Monday.
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