Over two decades ago, the body of a little girl was found in an ice chest off a New York Roadway. The little girl became known as "Baby Hope," as her identity was unknown. The only facts people knew were the terrible condition her body was found in: abused and decomposed. After 22 years of searching for clues and answers, the New York Police Department's Cold Case Apprehension Squad have identified Baby Hope to be 4-year-old Anjelica Castillo and her killer to be her paternal cousin, 52-year-old Conrado Juarez. "Today, NYPD investigators have given young Anjelica her due justice," said Chief of Detectives Phil Pulaski, reports CNN.
Since 1991, after construction workers found Anjelica's body in a garbage bag under soda cans in a blue and white cooler, the NYPD has been searching for clues in the Baby Hope case. And it wasn't just the killer they were looking for--Anjelica was never reported missing and authorities were looking for her family as well. After two years, the little girl was buried in a donated plot in a white dress purchased by a detective's wife. Her tombstone read: "Because we care." On the anniversary of the July 23, 1991, authorities would canvas neighborhoods nearby asking for tips and passing out flyers each year. It wasn't until last year that a tip was provided that would eventually lead to breaking the case. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly revealed that an anonymous tip after 2012's canvas led authorities to to Anjelica's sister, and then ultimately, her mother. In addition to the tip, advancements in forensic science played an important part in solving the case. Anjelica's body was exhumed in 2006 and a DNA profile was built in 2011 for her. This profile was used earlier this month to verify her mother's identity, after getting her to lick an envelope, and chart her family. The mother told authorities that Anjelica was under her father's custody at the time and she didn't call the cops out of fear of her "abusive" husband.
Here are four things to know about the killer Conrado Juarez: 1. Conrado Juarez was arrested by the police after they questioned him near the Manhattan's Bleecker Street restaurant Pesce Pasta.
where he worked as a dishwasher. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly revealed that Conrado Juarez admitted to the crimes on Saturday morning. He was reportedly expressionless when he was taken away by authorities. 2. Conrado Juarez told authorities that he saw Anjelica in the hallway of an apartment in Queens when he came home drunk, which was shared by his relatives. He took the girl and smothered her with a pillow while raping her. "It was nighttime, and she was in the hallway for some reason - maybe she was going to the bathroom," Retired Det. Jerry Giorgio, who was on the case from the start, said according to the New York Post. "He said he just took her by the hand and she went with him. She may at one point have started to yell or scream, looking for help. That's when he put the pillow over her face."
Conrado Juarez was 30 at the time he committed the crime. 3. Upon realizing Anjelica was not moving, Conrado Juarez called his sister, who helped him disposed of the body and provided the cooler. New York Assistant District Attorney Melissa Mourges revealed that Conrado Juarez stated he "folded the girl in half" and placed her in the cooler. 4. Conrado Juarez and his sister, Balvena Juarez Ramirez, took a cab to Manhattan to drop off the cooler in a wooded area off the Henry Hudson Parkway
. They then split and went their separate ways. Balvenz Juarez Ramirez is deceased.
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