Saul Dos Reis, the 25-year-old man arrested in the death of a 13-year girl he met on the Internet, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and three counts of second-degree sexual assault.
Dos Reis, of Greenwich, entered the plea on March 3, 2003 in connection with the May 2002 killing of Christina Long. Under the terms of the plea, Dos Reis did not admit any guilt, but admitted that the state had enough evidence to convict him at trial.
Investigators said that Dos Reis met Christina in an Internet chat room, and that he strangled her on May 17, 2002, as the two were having sex in his car after he picked her up at the Danbury Fair Mall.
After being questioned, the authorities said, he led investigators to Christina's body. Dos Reis had contended that Christina's death was an accident. He claimed he strangled her while they were having rough sex.
According to his lawyer, Dos Reis faces a maximum of 30 years in state prison when he is sentenced on May 6th. Had he proceeded to trial, Dos Reis could have faced up to 50 years in state prison.
The case received wide attention, and led to a push in Congress for a children-only
domain on the Internet.