BALTIMORE (AP) -- Three men have been indicted in the brutal sexual assault and slaying of a teenage girl whose body was discovered inside a Baltimore home that had been intentionally set on fire.
Adonay Dixon, 23, John Childs, 20, and Raeshawn Rivers, 14, were indicted Tuesday on first-degree murder, first-degree rape, arson, kidnapping and other charges stemming from the death of 16-year-old Arnesha Bowers, a junior at Baltimore City College high school. If convicted, they could face life in prison.
Police said the killing was part of a gang initiation. Bowers' body was discovered June 7 inside her grandmother's home, which investigators say was set fire in an attempt to conceal the crimes.
According to authorities, the men broke into the home Bowers shared with her grandmother in northeast Baltimore, sexually assaulted Bowers and then strangled her with an electrical cord before stealing electronics and setting the house ablaze. Authorities said Bowers knew her attackers. They said Childs had followed her home from a party and, after learning where she lived, returned with Dixon.
Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts on Tuesday called the crime "pure evil."
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.