Muslim teen assaulted, murdered in US
VIRGINIA A 17-year-old American Muslim girl was beaten and abducted after leaving a mosque in Virginia on Sunday by a man who police later arrested on suspicion of murder after her body was found dumped in a pond, authorities said.
The attack happened early on Sunday after the victim and several friends walking outside the mosque got into a dispute with a motorist in the community of Sterling, the Fairfax County Police Department said in a statement.
At one point, the motorist got out of his car and assaulted the girl, police said.
The teen was reported missing by her friends who scattered during the attack and could not find her afterwards, touching off an hours-long search by authorities in Fairfax and Loudoun counties.
At around 3pm, the remains of a female believed to be the teen victim, were found in a pond in Sterling, police said.
During the search for the missing teen, authorities stopped a motorist "driving suspiciously in the area" and arrested the driver, later identified as Darwin Martinez Torres, 22.
Police obtained a murder warrant that charged Torres with her death, the Fairfax County Police Department said.
Police said an autopsy will be conducted to confirm the victim's identity and cause of death, though detectives believe the body found in the pond is the missing girl. - REUTERS
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