Suspect in Road Rage Killing of 4-Year-Old Confesses

Anonymous tip led Albuquerque cops to suspect
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 22, 2015 1:45 AM CDT
Suspect in Road Rage Killing of 4-Year-Old Confesses
Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden, right, addresses reporters during a news conference on Wednesday at police headquarters in Albuquerque, NM.   (AP Photo/Russell Contreras)

Police in Albuquerque, NM, charged a man with murder Wednesday night in the road-rage killing of a 4-year-old girl, who was shot in the back seat of her father's truck after he picked her up from school—a death that horrified the public. Police say Tony Torrez, 32, was arrested Wednesday and is also charged with a series of weapons violations in the death of Lilly Garcia. The announcement came a few hours after police said a person of interest had been taken into custody in Tuesday's shooting on an Albuquerque freeway. Lilly was riding in the back seat with her 7-year-old brother when someone in a Toyota opened fire on the family as they traveled down the city's main east-west freeway.

The father told authorities that he was trying to exit I-40 when a car forced him out of his lane, according to a police statement. "The two drivers exchanged words when Torrez pulled out a gun and shot," the statement said. "Lilly was hit at least once in the head." Police say an anonymous caller provided the name of a possible suspect, and with that information and tips from the community, detectives were able to find the suspect, detaining him without incident. "This evening, Torrez confessed to investigators he was responsible for the murder," the police statement said. Earlier, Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden said officers "have not stopped or slept" in their search for the suspect and his vehicle. (More Albuquerque stories.)

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