The discovery of a dead body in Cape May County Monday has taken a more sickening turn as the victim has been identified as a teenage girl and unrelated charges have been filed against three men -- one being accused of sexually assaulting the juvenile.
No one has been charged in the death of the girl, now known to be 15-year-old Nicole Angstadt. But authorities' investigation into her disappearance and ultimately her death has led to the arrest of three suspects, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Her body was found on Monday at a vacated property located at 100 Vermont Avenue in Middle Township and officials said Tuesday they found the deceased girl while searching for Angstadt, who was reported missing by her mother on Dec. 1.
Authorities have now confirmed that it was the teenager they found. As a result of the investigation, prosecutors say three men are in custody.
LaQuan D. Harris, 20, and Derrick Powers, 23, both of the Rio Grande section of Middle Township, each face two counts of first-degree armed robbery and second-degree conspiracy to commit armed robbery for crimes that occurred on Dec. 4 and Dec. 8.
In the first crime, authorities say the men robbed nine juveniles at Mulligan Park in the Villas section of Lower Township.
In the second robbery, a victim was struck with a handgun in the Rio Grande neighborhood. Both have been jailed at Cape May County Correctional Facility in lieu of $200,000 bail.
Also resulting from their investigation was the revelation that 32-year-old Charles E. Mosley of Rio Grande had a sexual relationship with Angstadt, according to prosecutors.
He has been charged with second-degree sexual assault of a person at least 13 but less than 16 years of age, third-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and fourth-degree trespassing.
Mosley has been jailed at the Cape May County Correctional Facility in lieu of $250,000 bail.
Again, authorities are stressing that no one has been charged with the teen's death.
In a release announcing the charges, prosecutors say they want to "assure the public that investigators do not believe this to be a random act."
The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are asking anyone with information regarding the case to call the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-465-1135, Lower Township Police at 609-886-2711 or the Middle Township Police Department at 609-465-8700.