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Cops: Teen Girl Lured on Internet, Killed
Tuesday, May 21, 2002

http://www.foxnews.com

A pretty Connecticut cheerleader who mysteriously vanished last week was found 
strangled in a Greenwich ravine yesterday -- and her cyber-suitor has confessed 
to her sickening murder, cops said.

Christina Long, 13, a popular student at St. Peter Catholic School in Danbury, 
disappeared Friday after her aunt, Shelly Reilly, dropped her off at about 5:45 
p.m. at the Danbury Fair Mall.

Investigators believe Christina made her way to a nearby McDonald's, where she 
met Saul Dos Reis, 25, a married man with whom she had been communicating 
online. It wasn't known how long the two corresponded, but cops said they had 
met before in person.

"She was really obsessed with computers," best pal Thamiris Silva said. "That's 
what got her into trouble ... computers."

When her aunt went to retrieve her, Christina didn't show up. Reilly called 
cops and begged neighbors for any information on the girl's whereabouts -- to 
no avail.

After an intense manhunt, local cops and FBI agents began focusing on the 
teen's bedroom computer, where they discovered provocative messages from Dos 
Reis, cops said. Pals said Christina spent hours on the computer and often 
spoke of teen boys she'd met online.

Dos Reis -- an illegal Brazilian immigrant -- was taken into custody early 
Sunday and charged with the federal crime of using the Internet to entice a 
child for sex.

Danbury Detective Rachel Halas said Dos Reis also confessed to her murder and 
led them to where he dumped the body, a ravine off King Street in North 
Greenwich. Officials said she'd been strangled.

They did not say whether she had been sexually assaulted. Nor would they 
comment on the details of the e-mail correspondence.

The slaying of the blue-eyed, 5-foot-1, 125-pound teen has stunned the 
community.

The tragedy has also been devastating to her classmates at St. Peter, where she 
transferred last fall and was co-captain of the cheerleading squad. Counselors 
will be on hand at the school today - where the flag flew at half-staff.

"It's a bad day, we're very sad today," said principal Josephine Ferry, who 
added that Christina started sixth grade at the school last fall.

"She was a sweet, sweet girl."

Last fall, after her parents' divorce, Christina left her hometown of New 
Milford and moved into her aunt's two-story house. She was recently baptized as 
a Catholic.

The Rev. Albert Audette, who has been comforting the family, said her aunt is 
devastated.

"Of course, there's a great deal of blame and a great deal of pain in the 
family," Audette said. "Her aunt blames herself terribly for not knowing these 
things about her niece."

Dos Reis came to the United States when he was 10 and apparently worked at his 
father's Port Chester restaurant. He graduated from Greenwich High School in 
1997 and worked in service jobs.

A former neighbor wasn't surprised by the sinister turn of events. Dos Reis was 
described as "quiet" and his wife, Tatiana, became that way too after the 
couple married.

"He never talked to me, to say good morning or anything. His wife, Tatiana, was 
very friendly -- until they got married," the neighbor said.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,53291,00.html


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