By Associated Press - Friday, May 22, 2015

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - A South Bend man has been charged with murder in the death of a 22-year-old woman missing since April.

Twenty-four-year-old Alberto Cruz was charged Friday in the death of Alma Del Real of South Bend, whose body was found Wednesday in a remote area near Culver, about 40 miles south of South Bend.

Court documents say Cruz was Del Real’s friend and gave her a ride home from a bar on April 12. Police say Cruz first said she had been kidnapped by a drug cartel. Police say he later confessed to strangling her.

Cruz was being held without bond in the St. Joseph County Jail. Court records didn’t list a defense attorney to comment on his behalf.

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