Affidavit: Fresno County teen admitted killing boy put in dryer

Alex Mercado, 4, is seen in this undated photo.

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By Associated Press

MENDOTA, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say in court documents that a 14-year-old Mendota boy charged with murder confessed to killing a 4-year-old neighbor because the child was going to reveal that the teen molested him.

Fresno County prosecutors have charged Raul Castro as an adult in the case. He's scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon on multiple charges, including murder and sodomy.

Details of the confession are in an affidavit filed by sheriff's detective Sergio Toscano to get an arrest warrant.

According to the affidavit, Castro lured Alex Mercado into the bathroom of his home, where he molested and sodomized the boy. When Alex started crying and threatening to tell his mother, Castro said he held the boy under water in the bathtub until he died.

Castro said he then hid the body in a clothes dryer.

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Information from: The Fresno Bee
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