Man Kills Neighbor...Says He Tried To Rescue Her

[bloodrayne]

Police: Neighbor Killed Woman, Feigned Rescue

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A man who told investigators he had tried to save to his elderly neighbor from her burning home had robbed the woman, killed her and set the fire, police said Friday.

Firefighters answering an alarm Aug. 4 in the city's Kensington section put out the small fire within minutes and found the burned and naked body of Diane Torres, 69.

Christopher Mandoza, 22, told media and police he had tried to run into the house and save the elderly widow, his next-door neighbor.

Police on Friday, however, said Mandoza confessed to robbing Torres, killing her and setting the fire. An autopsy indicated Torres was strangled before the fire, which started on the basement steps, police had said.

"I can't really say what I want to say on camera, because I'd probably get bleeped," police Capt. Richard Ross told a Friday morning news conference. "The bottom line is obviously we doubted the veracity of (Mandoza's) story."

Mandoza was charged late Thursday with murder, arson, robbery, weapon possession and related counts, police said. He was arraigned Friday and ordered held without bail, and was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday on the charges.

The row house had been ransacked, with drawers pulled out throughout. But police found no signs of forced entry, leading investigators to believe she let the killer in.