Man Convicted In 2013 Death Of Brooklyn Girl
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A 22-year-old man has been convicted of killing a 14-year-old Brooklyn girl he first met online.
Christian Ferdinand was convicted Monday in the death of Shaniesha Forbes, whose naked and charred body was discovered in Gerritsen Beach on Jan. 6, 2013, two days after she disappeared.
Forbes died of "homicidal asphyxiation,'' which includes suffocation and smothering.
Detectives told family members Ferdinand confessed to killing the teen, saying he panicked after he believed she was pregnant with his child, CBS2 reported in May 2013. Autopsy results show she was not.
Prosecutors said Ferdinand burned her body to get rid of the evidence. He was arrested in Maine about four months after the killing.
"The defendant brutally took the life of a 14-year-old girl all because he believed that she was pregnant," Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson said.
Ferdinand faces 25 years to life in prison when he's sentenced next month.
"We will now seek the maximum at sentencing to ensure that we get justice for the victim," Thompson said.
Forbes was a freshman at the Academy for Young Writers in Williamsburg. She lived with her mother and three siblings in East Flatbush.
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