A cousin of the murdered toddler dubbed Baby Hope was arrested Saturday — marking a dramatic turn in one of the city’s most notorious cold cases.
Conrado Juarez, 52, confessed to killing the little girl who was identified for the first time as Angelica Castillo, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.
RELATED: BABY HOPE’S FATHER NOW PRIME SUSPECT: SOURCE
Juarez, of the Bronx, told cops he sexually-assaulted and then smothered the tot. The monster then stuffed the girl’s lifeless body into a cooler, Kelly said.
Juarez’s sister, Balbena Ramirez, who was caring for the girl, was also in on the scheme. It was her idea to dispose of Angelica’s remains in a mini-freezer, Kelly said.
RELATED: ‘BABY HOPE’ MOM’S LAST IMAGE OF CHILD 22 YEARS AGO WAS CHILLING GOODBYE FROM DAD
Juarez was never a suspect in the case. He met Angelica through his sister, who lived in Astoria, Queens.
The sister, who is now dead, took the secret of Baby Hope with her to the grave.
RELATED: BABY HOPE DETECTIVE KEEPS FAITH IN FINDING KILLER
The baby’s rotting remains were found stuffed inside a picnic cooler along the Henry Hudson Parkway on July 23, 1991.
The little girl was naked, bound, beaten and sexually abused.
Cops revealed this week they made a break in the case — using DNA to identify the mother of the dead girl.
A phone tip over the summer led to the advance in the long-stymied probe.
