A 43-year-old man from Phoenix, Arizona died after performing sexual acts that involved strangulation with a 16-year-old girl, AZCentral, an Arizona news site, reported on Tuesday.
Police arrested the girl, whose identity was not released because of her age, on Jan. 18 in connection with the man's death. But the teenager claims the man, Jason Ash, died during a consensual sex act. As of Tuesday the girl was held at a detention center on charges of second-degree murder.
Authorities found Jason Ash dead inside the girl's West Olive Avenue apartment at around 5:45 p.m. on Saturday. Police originally went to the apartment in response to a report of an injured person, AZCentral reported.
Ash was found with a cord around his neck and several cuts to his body, Sargent Jay O'Neill, a spokesman for Glendale police, told AZCentral. The 16-year-old was nowhere to be found. Police also told AZCentral that she left the apartment before they arrived.
The teenager was left alone with Ash when her mother left the apartment. When police spoke to the mother, she told them Ash was her daughter's friend, AZCentral reported.
After the mother left, she said her daughter then called her and said she strangled Ash during a consensual sex act and he was now dead.
The girl's mother told police she then came home to find Ash, who appeared to be passed out. The mother called 911 and tried to revive Ash, AZCentral reported.
Police later found the 16-year-old at a nearby apartment. O'Neill told AZCentral the teenager confessed to strangling and cutting Ash while they had sex.
Ash's death is still under investigation. Police also said the girl's name was not released because it has not yet been determined if she will be charged as an adult or a minor, AZCentral reported.
