Northeast Philly man is charged in the death of a missing 13-year-old girl

A Northeast Philadelphia man has been charged with killing a 13-year-old girl who went missing in November.

Luis Rodriguez, 25, of Frankford, has been charged with murder and related crimes in the death of Alezuana Carter, who was found dead in April in an apartment in the 1500 block of Overington Street near the Frankford Transportation Center.

Police arrested Rodriguez on Friday but did not announce it until Monday.

Carter’s great-grandfather, William Orr, said Monday that he had not heard that an arrest had been made. “I’m glad to hear about that,” said Orr, 88.

Carter, whose relatives and friends called her Libby, was reported missing in November and was last seen the morning of Oct. 12 near her family’s Southwest Philadelphia home, police said.

On April 18, after receiving a call about a shooting in the 1500 block of Overington, officers found Carter in a first-floor apartment. She had been shot in the mouth.

It wasn’t until May 1 that authorities were able to identify her and inform her family of her death. Police have not said if Carter and Rodriguez knew each other, nor have they released details about the circumstances that led to the shooting.

At the time of his arrest, Rodriguez was awaiting trial for aggravated assault and drug crimes, court records show.

He also has a second drug case pending, according to the court records.

Carter’s death is part of a disturbing trend of juveniles falling victim to the city’s surging gun violence. So are this year, 129 have been shot and 23 have died, according to an Inquirer analysis of city crime data.

Juvenile shootings are 53% higher than they were at this same time last year, the analysis found. There were just seven fatal shootings of juveniles by this date in 2020. And this month could end as one of the most deadly for youth: Between July 14 and yesterday, 19 juveniles have been shot.

Staff reporter Dylan Purcell contributed to this article.