Prosecution rests in 1996 rape-strangulation of Kensington girl

A Philadelphia judge is expected to begin reviewing evidence Thursday in the bench trial of Rafael Crespo, 49, charged with rape and murder of 17-year-old Anjeanette Maldonado almost 19 years ago.

On Wednesday, Assistant District Attorney Carlos Vega concluded the prosecution case. On Thursday, defense attorney Michael F. Giampietro will call any final witnesses before the case goes to Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey P. Minehart for a verdict.

Maldonado's nude body - raped, bruised and strangled - was found in a vacant house in the 1700 block of North Hope Street on Oct. 2, 1996, two days after the Kensington teen was last seen alive. The slaying was considered a cold case until April 2012, when DNA found in Maldonado's body matched that in an FBI database taken from Crespo after he was arrested in Florida for sexually assaulting a young girl. Crespo confessed that he accosted Maldonado on her way to school.

Crespo waived his right to a jury trial in exchange for the prosecution not seeking the death penalty. Giampietro has argued that Crespo admitted having sex with Maldonado but left her alive in the vacant house. - Joseph A. Slobodzian