Limestone Man Charged With Murder of Brooklyn Girl [UPDATE]

The New York City Police Department has charged a Loring Job Corps student in connection with the death of a 14-year-old girl whose body was found on a Brooklyn beach five months ago.

20-year-old Christian Ferdinand was arrested early Thursday on a second-degree murder charge. The medical examiner determined that Shaniesha Forbes of Brooklyn, New York died of ‘‘homicidal asphyxiation.’’

The girl’s partly burned body was discovered on Gerritsen Beach on January 6.  She had attended the Academy for Young Writers in Brooklyn and had apparently met Ferdinand online.  Police say Shaniesha had left her home on the morning of January 4, telling relatives she was going to school. That was the last time the saw her alive.

According to Limestone Police Chief Stacey Mahan, a New York City homicide detective contacted the Limestone Police Department in March for help in locating Ferdinand. On Monday, Detectives from New York City and Maine State Police questioned the suspect. He was taken to the Aroostook County Jail in Houlton and  then transported to the 63rd Precinct in Brooklyn for processing.

NYPD said Ferdinand made a confession in the case.