Colo. police: Suspect in 1993 girl’s death is dead

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Police in the Denver suburb of Englewood have identified a suspect in the 1993 killing of a 5-year-old girl whose body was found inside a duffel bag.

Authorities say they identified Nicholas Stofer through DNA evidence. He died in 2001 at age 41, so police say their investigation in the 18-year-old case is now over.

Alie Berrelez disappeared from her family’s apartment complex in Englewood. Four days later, on May 22, 1993, investigators found her body in Deer Creek Canyon in Jefferson County.

Police say Stofer’s DNA matches DNA recovered from the girl’s underwear. Investigators also got a partial DNA match from the waistband of the girl’s underwear.