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'I'm Sorry' Mom Says Suspect In Daughter's Murder Texted Her

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The mother of a woman strangled in a north Philadelphia row home says the suspect sent her a text message after the slaying apologizing for killing her daughter.

Authorities said a man called police shortly after 2 a.m. Monday to say he had just killed his girlfriend inside their Kensington home.

Veronica Rodriguez, 27, was found unresponsive in the second-floor bedroom and was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities said the cause of death was manual strangulation/asphyxiation.

Police stopped Juan Camacho, 25, in his vehicle two hours later. He was arrested and faces charges of murder, rape, sexual assault, abuse of a corpse and related offenses. He remained in custody, and it wasn't clear whether he had an attorney.

The victim's mother, Maribel Guzman, told WBBH-TV in Fort Myers, Florida, that her daughter told her during a Mother's Day call Sunday that she had just broken up with Camacho.

During that conversation, she said, Camacho sent her a message through Facebook asking for advice about how to win back her daughter.

"She's a good, good woman," Guzman said. "Always happy, always bringing the family together."

Guzman said she got another text message from Camacho early Monday saying, "I'm sorry I killed your daughter."

"I'm still in denial," she said. "I need to see her, and I want to bring her back home because she's in Philadelphia."

(© Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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