Sunday, October 13, 2013

22 years later... Baby Hope case resolved, mom,dad,killer known

After 22 years, Baby Hope's case has been solved!  Her real name? Anjelica Castillo, Age 4. To remind you of the case, her abused and decomposed body was found in an ice chest on July 23, 1991 by the side of the Henry Hudson Parkway.

Thanks to an anonymous tipster, police announced the arrest of Conrado Juarez, 52, Anjelica's cousin. He has been charged with murder. The anonymous tip came after the latest canvass this past July leading to Anjelica's sister who is now an adult.  From there, they were able to identify who they believed to be Anjelica's mother.

That tip lead directly to the eventual arrest of Conrado Juarez who is Anjelica's cousin on her fathers side. After questioning him at his dish washing job in manhattan, they arrested him where he remained emotionless as he was walked by reporters. He fully admitted to the crime on Saturday.



Anjelica was initially found by construction workers, who was never reported missing,  bound and in a garbage bag, hidden under some soda cans, inside that infamous blue and white cooler. She  had been smothered and sexually molested, and her body was so badly decomposed that several sketches were make to suggest what she looked like.

2 years after she was found, the girl was laid to rest in a donated plot, buried in a white dress bought by a detective's wife, and a tombstone the detectives paid for "because we care" is the inscription on the bottom of the tombstone.

Juarez, 30 at the time, went to an apt. in the queens shared by 7 relatives where he saw Anjelica in the hallway. He told police he smothered her with a pillow while raping her. After she because motionless, he summoned his sister from another room.  It was his sister who told him to get rid of the body and provided that blue and white cooler. He then folded her in half, tied her, placed her in the garbage bag, then into the cooler before covering her with soda cans.

He and his sister hailed a cab to Manhattan, dropped the cooler off in a wooded area near the parkway, and then went their separate ways.  The sister Balvena Juarez Ramirez unfortunately is deceased.

Changes in forensic science also helped propel this case as the body was exhumed in 2006, and a DNA profile was built in 2011.  Earlier this month, the office of Chief Medical Examiner made a match between mother and daughter. From there, they made a family tree which led them to Juarez.

I for one have to wonder why she was never reported missing by dear old mom and dad.  I also wonder what dear old mom and dad are doing these days.... living or deceased, incarcerated or not? Big sis might have some of those answers. Is there anyone else that was in that apartment that day still alive that might recall things?  could the cab driver verify things? cab company?

What do y'all think about this case?  Do you think he'll plead guilty? Do you think others will be charged as accessories after the fact? post comments!

Credit to CNN's Lorenzo Ferrigno, Susan Candiotti, Erin Duggan, and Margaret Conley for their contributions.

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