Man held in Moo's slaying

SOUTH SALT LAKE — Even as hundreds of searchers called out her name, police believe Hser Nay Moo was killed within an hour of her disappearance, only feet from her home.

Wednesday, police arrested Esar Met, 21, in connection with the girl's death.

Met lived with four other men in the same complex where Moo's family lived, 2250 S. 500 East. Moo's body was found in the basement bathroom of Met's townhouse around 7 p.m. Tuesday, said South Salt Lake Police Chief Chris Snyder.

Met was booked into jail just after 7 a.m. Wednesday for investigation of aggravated murder, child kidnapping and evidence tampering. He was being held without bail. Snyder said he expected charges to be filed against the man later this week.

Met was read his Miranda rights and, "admitted to attempting to confine the victim to the residence by force, resulting in her death. (Met) also admitted to attempting to conceal the body and other forensic evidence," according to a Salt Lake County Jail report.

Moo, 7, was last seen sometime between 1 and 2 p.m. Monday after she had been playing outside on her front patio and stepped in her apartment momentarily for a drink. Two of her brothers, ages 11 and 3 weeks, were home at the time along with an aunt who was baby-sitting.

"After she left, she went directly over to the suspect's apartment," Snyder said. Police believe her death "occurred within the hour of her leaving the house."

Moo and her four brothers, father and mother, are refugees from Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. They lived in a refugee camp for 20 years before coming to America and Utah last August.

Police don't know if the girl was invited inside, but said Moo's family knew at least four of the men who lived in the townhouse and the girl had been in the home before.

Police from several agencies, along with the FBI and the Utah Attorney General's Office, had been working since Monday night, going door-to-door, checking each apartment in the complex as well as surrounding residences and businesses.

The apartment where Moo's body was found was the last unit in the complex that needed to be cleared. Investigators could not find anyone home to consent to a search until about 7 p.m. Tuesday and did not have enough evidence to forcibly enter. Inside the apartment, Moo's body was found in a bathroom, Snyder said.

Investigators declined to comment on specifics of Moo's death, but Snyder said "a physical altercation did occur."

The case had many similarities to the abduction and murder of Destiny Norton, a 5-year-old girl who was kidnapped in 2006 after being lured out of her back yard by a neighbor. Her body was found in plastic storage bin in the basement.