Judge: No evidence against Puerto Rican in renowned killing

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A judge in Puerto Rico has ruled there is not enough evidence to charge a man recently arrested in the killing of a young boy in a case that has transfixed the U.S. territory for six years.

The ruling issued Tuesday provoked an outcry over the still unsolved case of 8-year-old Lorenzo Gonzalez. He was attacked with a knife and received a blow to the head in an upscale neighbourhood in March 2010. Judge Carlos Salgado said prosecutors presented no physical evidence tying Luis Gustavo Rivera Seijo to the killing.

Puerto Rico’s Justice Department announced last month that it had charged Rivera, a one-armed drifter who once served in the U.S. Army and is believed to be mentally ill. Authorities previously have said he was not a suspect.