The child's body was found in a wooded Washington Heights area in 1991.
Police have arrested a relative in connection with the death of 4-year-old "Baby Hope," whose identity was not known until this week, 22 years after her body was found dumped in a cooler in the woods in upper Manhattan, officials said Saturday.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said 52-year-old Conrado Juarez, who is believed to be a cousin of the girl, confessed to sexually assaulting her before smothering her to death.
Kelly said Juarez told police that when the girl, whose real name is Anjelica Castillo, went motionless, he summoned his sister into the room, and she ordered him to get rid of the body, even bringing him the cooler. The pair then took a livery cab to Manhattan from the Bronx home, and dumped the cooler, he said.
It was not clear if he had a lawyer. Kelly said Juarez's sister is no longer alive.
The girl's body was found by construction workers on July 23, 1991 along the Henry Hudson Parkway near Dyckman Street.
Investigators launched a renewed push this summer for leads in the case, and it was amid that publicity for "Baby Hope" that a tipster contacted police, saying she thought she might know the child's sister, now an adult.
That tip led detectives to relatives of the girl, and eventually her mother. This week, the child's real name was finally learned.
A law enforcement official tells NBC 4 New York that the mother claims she lived in fear of the baby's father and was afraid to go to police after her daughter disappeared.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said 52-year-old Conrado Juarez, who is believed to be a cousin of the girl, confessed to sexually assaulting her before smothering her to death.
Kelly said Juarez told police that when the girl, whose real name is Anjelica Castillo, went motionless, he summoned his sister into the room, and she ordered him to get rid of the body, even bringing him the cooler. The pair then took a livery cab to Manhattan from the Bronx home, and dumped the cooler, he said.
It was not clear if he had a lawyer. Kelly said Juarez's sister is no longer alive.
The girl's body was found by construction workers on July 23, 1991 along the Henry Hudson Parkway near Dyckman Street.
Investigators launched a renewed push this summer for leads in the case, and it was amid that publicity for "Baby Hope" that a tipster contacted police, saying she thought she might know the child's sister, now an adult.
That tip led detectives to relatives of the girl, and eventually her mother. This week, the child's real name was finally learned.
A law enforcement official tells NBC 4 New York that the mother claims she lived in fear of the baby's father and was afraid to go to police after her daughter disappeared.
