Man, 19, arrested in beating death

After school, she left her home to go play at a friend's house two blocks away. About two hours later, at 7 p.m., her body was found by two girls riding their bicycles in a wash near her home in the 500 block of West Solana Avenue.

"The girls were scared. They thought she was injured, so they ran to the closest house," said Deputy Dawn Barkman, a Pima County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman. They notified the homeowner, who called 911.

When deputies arrived, they found Rhia dead from blunt-force trauma, although the type of weapon used was unknown, Barkman said. There was also evidence of other trauma to the body, according to sheriff's Capt. Chris Nanos

While deputies were able to get a tentative ID on the girl, the trauma she suffered rendered her "somewhat unidentifiable," Barkman said. As a result, an autopsy will have to be conducted to make a positive identification.

On Friday morning, Sheriff's Department investigators arrested Loretto Kyle Alegria, 19, the brother of the 9-year-old friend Rhia had gone to visit, on suspicion of first-degree murder. He was booked into the Pima County jail.

A motive has not been determined, but drugs and alcohol are not believed to be factors in the case, Nanos said.

The town of Ajo is a relatively quiet place that sees on average one homicide a year, if that. So the apparent murder of a child at a friend's house has left residents wondering how such a thing could happen.

It was not unusual for Rhia and her brothers to go play at the home of their 9-year-old friend, who lived with his parents and two brothers.

But this time when Rhia arrived at the residence, her friend was not home. The only person there was her friend's brother.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department has not said what unfolded in the small home, which sits across the street from a church. But it is believed that Rhia was slain inside before her body was taken outside to a nearby wash.

Rhia's mother did not report her child missing, and she was not notified of the death until late Thursday night, but she likely "put the pieces together," Barkman said. "It was getting late, she realized her daughter hadn't come home and there are sirens coming into the neighborhood. … It's a small town. I'm sure she had to have a feeling."

Around the same time the 911 call came in, Alegria's mother returned home from Phoenix.

"I didn't have any clue what happened," said Margo Alegria as she stood outside her home, waiting for homicide detectives to wrap up a search that began early Friday morning. "I came home and everything seemed fine and normal."

Detectives went to her home and arrested her son after finding evidence in the wash.

Alegria has some prior criminal history, but "nothing that would ever lead you to believe he would commit such an act," Nanos said.

The Ajo Unified School District has arranged to have counselors available on Monday for both students and adults affected by the slaying, said Superintendent Robert Dooley.

"It's a shock, a big shock, and to say that is an understatement," Dooley said. "Our sympathy goes out to her family and friends. This is a tragedy that won't ever go away."

Rhia's relatives visited the site where her body was found, leaving behind guardian angel and Virgin Mary candles. They declined to comment Friday.

The area was littered with water bottles, candy wrappers, beer cans and other trash.

Aaron Hugg's home sits right along the wash where the body was found. He said he has only lived in Ajo for about a month and was shocked to hear of what happened.

"I knew they found a body, but I assumed it had something to do with drug trafficking. Never did I think it would be a 7-year-old girl," he said.

Ajo resident Deborah Perez walked over to the wash in dismay. She offered her condolences to the family Friday afternoon.

"I saw what happened on the news and I thought, 'Oh my God, that all happened here?' " she said. "It's terrifying; it gave me the chills. For being a little town you don't expect it, especially in this case — she is an innocent little girl who did not deserve this."

Ajo is in western Pima County, about 130 miles from Tucson.

According to Star archives, the killing on Thursday is one of only four homicides in Ajo in recent years.

The most recent case occurred July 20, 2008, when Luis Ernesto Veleta stabbed Hunter R. Hawn to death at Veleta's birthday party. Veleta pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

There was also a murder in Ajo in April 2005, when Eduardo "Aaron" Leon shot David Davis after an argument over car repairs. Leon was convicted of second-degree murder.