Posted on 10/01/2005 3:28:17 PM PDT by Abathar
NEW YORK -- A Queens man was charged Saturday with murdering his live-in girlfriend, the latest twist in a week-long mystery that began when the slain woman's 4-year-old daughter was found walking alone down a Queens street in the middle of the night, police said.
Cesar Ascarrunz, 32, was arrested on murder charges two days after he was picked up by investigators, police said. The body of his alleged victim, 26-year-old Monica Lozada, was not recovered, police said.
Investigators were led to Ascarrunz by a dozen tips that came in from the public after 4-year-old Valerie Lozada appeared on television Thursday, describing her mother as looking "like a princess." The little girl remained in a foster home Saturday.
Ascarrunz lived with the Lozadas in an apartment in the Rego Park section of Queens.
It was one week ago that Valerie was found barefoot and shivering on the streets of Queens, where she told residents that her father had dropped her off and driven away.
But it wasn't until Friday, after six days of digging and about 100 phone calls from the public, that police finally identified Monica Lozada and declared her a missing person. Records from the little girl's day care center in Queens were used to figure out her mother's identity.
The dry facts of the mom's appearance were beamed citywide: 5-foot-6, 105 pounds, thin build. A scar on her left knee and a bluebord tattooed on her stomach. Her face, left slightly swollen by recent oral surgery. She is believed to be from Bolivia.
Monica Lozada was last seen at her Queens apartment on Sept. 24, at 11:45 p.m. About 75 minutes later, her daughter was found walking along 76th Street in the Middle Village section of Queens.
"She was scared, she was crying," said Kevin Flood, 34, a city firefighter who gave Valerie a drink and a fruit snack that night. "She said her daddy had left her on the corner."
Flood, who has a three-month-old son, said walked around the corner of his block in the quiet neighborhood, thinking he would find the girl's dad. Instead, the street was empty.
"I thought maybe he would have a heart," Flynn said.
According to the Flynn, the girl's hair was tousled as if she'd just been awakened. Her cries from the street awakened several neighbors, who provided the girl with a blanket and summoned police. The girl showed no signs of abuse or neglect.
Valerie, a precocious child who speaks both English and Spanish, couldn't remember her last name, said Petrovic's wife, Maya. The little girl was turned over to the Administration for Children's Services for care as police tried to unravel the mystery of the little girl lost.
The case finally turned when ACS officials took the extraordinary step of putting the girl on television in hopes it would produce new information. It did, as authorities received phone calls that helped identify the mother and led them to question the boyfriend.
I disagree. He should get the needle for doing whatever he did to the Mom. At least he spared the little girl.
Of course, NY is fresh out of needles, except maybe at an addict exchange clinic.
Thanks for finding that, how anyone could do that to someone so precious is beyond me.
I meant taking her mother from her, and I wouldn't exactly call that sparing her, she could have stepped in front of a bus or been set on by dogs.
#2, What a sweethheart.
Good thing a creep didn't get a hold of her. Hopefully decent relatives will come forward and care for her rather then the "state".
Little girl was asked by media what her mommy looked like -- "A Princess" was the answer. So sad.
Just abandoning her on the street like that is likely to scar her for life. It's going to be perhaps the first memory she has in her life. What a way to begin, huh? Throw in the fact that this pig murdered her mother... I can't imagine what that's going to do to her. Yeah, I hope he gets the needle, or a prison shiv. Either one would be okay with me. BTW, I heard this guy isn't her real father; he's still in Bolivia.
Watching this precocious, adorable child on TV answering questions about her mother - this to establish her identity - broke my heart. How could a father do that. Just dump her out of the car in the middle of the night. The only saving grace for the little girl was that he left her in a reasonably safe residential neighborhood where kind people heard her crying, took her in and called the authorities. This man should never see the light of day. Her mother's fate is still a mystery.
Pick his poison. One way or the other... he deserves the worst.
Not meaning to make light of the situation at all, but there's a song....
Anyway, this adorable child has a lot of good in heart heart, if children's faces can be read that way, and she's young. Here's hoping she heals and grows to be a healthy adult, despite this mess so early in her life.
This was not a FATHER. This was yet another "live-in boyfriend" who tossed out his girlfriend's kid. (Of course, he murdered the girlfriend first.) Another great victory for those who think serial cohabitation is the ultimate in human fulfilment.
"How could a father do that"
The man who did this is NOT the girl's father. He was the mother's boyfriend, of only like 3 months, according to an early story on this. I'll try and find the link and post it.
Here's the earlier thread
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1494705/posts
God love that poor little Angel. I hope he gets what he deserves. That is a terrible thing to do to a small child like that.
What an adorable little sweetheart. She is such a beautiful angel. I can't believe that someone her FATHER out of all people would want to do something so dispicable to an innocent little girl. If I had the chance I would adopt Valery and love her as if she was my own. I hope that she is placed with a family that will love her unconditionally
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