MAN GUILTY IN PAPERGIRL KILLING (Murderer will face life in prison without parole)

PFMLIT General, NEIGHBOR, SEX OFFENDERS AND OTHERS IN POSITIONS OF TRUST, SEX OFFENDERS AND OTHERS WHO KILL, SEX OFFENDERS AND OTHERS WHO REOFFEND, SEX OFFENDERS WHO KILL, SEX OFFENDERS WHO REOFFEND

New Haven Register

Jose Torres, a 29-year-old registered sex offender, was convicted Monday of the 1998 murder of11 year old Angelica Padilla who was killed while delivering newspapers. Torres, who was on parole,lived in the same apartment complex as the girl, Angelica Padilla. On August 13 Angelica failed toreturn home from her afternoon newspaper route. Seven hours later, Willimantic police discoveredher partially clad body on a wooded hillside behind her apartment complex, where Torres also lived.Police said her shirt was pulled up and her shorts were missing. Torres was arrested days later.Prosecutors said Angelica was hit in the head with a blunt object in the room of Torres' buildingand dragged out to the woods, where her throat was slit. Authorities also believe Torres tried tosexually assault her. Torres knew girl and her mother, and his mother used to baby-sit for the girlafter school. DNA extracted from a semen stain on Angelica's shorts likely came from Torres. He hadbeen convicted of third-degree sexual assault in 1996 in an attack on his girlfriend. He had beenon the state's sex offender registry, but was not listed at the proper address.

(Danielson, Connecticut)