Authorities have arrested a neighbor in the killing of a New Jersey girl whose body was found near her home Thursday morning, hours after she was reported missing by her mother, the Monmouth County prosecutor says. Brian Thompson reports.
What to Know
- Eleven-year-old Abbiegail Smith will be laid to rest during a funeral Monday
- Abbiegail died from a stab wound to the neck, the medical examiner has ruled
- An upstairs neighbor, 18-year-old Andreas Erazo, was arrested on murder and weapons charges in the killing
The 11-year-old girl who was stabbed to death and found near her New Jersey home will be laid to rest Monday.
Abbiegail Smith's body was found on the roof of a building behind her home on the morning of July 13. On Sunday, a wake was held in Keansburg. Even local police officers came out to pay their respects.
An upstairs neighbor, 18-year-old Andreas Erazo, was arrested on murder and weapons charges in the killing. Erazo hung his head and said nothing during his first court appearance. The girl's mother, a nurse, said to him at the end of the proceeding, "I hope you rot in jail. My one and only daughter. Rot in jail."
He's being held without bail.
