A 14-year-old girl from Illinois was found dead after police say a man sexually assaulted her and strangled her with jumper cables.
The Vandalia Police Department received a missing person report for Kylie Toberman just after 6:30 a.m. Friday. Her body was found later that afternoon.
Officials have arrested Arnold Rivera, 43, in the case. He is charged with first-degree murder, criminal sexual assault and concealing a homicide.
According to State Attorney Brenda Mathis, Kylie and Rivera were in a car together at the time of her death. Charging documents state accuse Rivera of sexually assaulting her, and an autopsy said her cause of death was strangulation.
Mathis alleged Rivera used jumper cables to strangle the girl, then put her body in a tote and hid it in an RV.
Kylie reportedly lived at a home in Vandalia with her adoptive mother and two sisters. Rivera, who is reported to be her step-uncle, lived in the RV behind their house where her body was found,
according to KSDK.
According to Fox News, Rivera has a criminal history dating back to 2000. That year, prosecutors dismissed charges of criminal sexual abuse involving a child between the ages of 9 and 16, as well as burglary, in exchange for a guilty plea to felony aggravated battery.
For that, Rivera was sentenced to 30 months of probation.
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