Police: 19-year-old sexually assaulted, killed friend near defunct Holy Land USA site in Conn.

Police: Man killed friend near Conn. ‘Holy Land’

WATERBURY, Conn. — Police in Connecticut charged a 19-year-old man with raping and killing a 16-year-old girl after the two walked together to a closed and decaying religious attraction.

Francisco Cruz, of Waterbury, is charged with murder and sexual assault in the death of his friend Chloe Ottman. Her body was found near Holy Land USA on Saturday.

Police say Cruz admitted that he killed Ottman on Thursday evening and led investigators to her body.

The 18-acre former religious attraction is on a hillside overlooking Waterbury. It featured a “Hollywood”-style Holy Land USA sign and replicas of Bethlehem and Jerusalem made from scrap wood, chicken wire, sheet-metal and other materials. It closed years ago, though its 50-foot cross is still illuminated at night.