Man, 20, 'claimed his 6-year-old step-cousin seduced him before he raped her and stabbed her to death'

• Matthew Flugence 'told police he raped Ahlittia North after she put down a blanket and said she wanted to have sex with him'
• He 'stabbed her and watched her die before going to a party'
• Her body was found in a dumpster on her street on July 16
• Flugence has given police conflicting statements about the murder weapon and the alleged rape - an autopsy did not reveal any sexual activity

By Daily Mail Reporters

PUBLISHED: 10:04 EST, 19 September 2013 | UPDATED: 13:30 EST, 19 September 2013

A man suspected of murdering his six-year-old step-cousin has claimed that she seduced him before he raped her and stabbed her to death, police have said.

Matthew Flugence, 20, allegedly told a detective that little Ahlittia North put a blanket on the ground behind an apartment block in Harvey, Louisiana before telling him she wanted to have sex.

'In his words, the little girl, she wanted to have sex with him,' Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office Detective Travis Eserman during a preliminary examination, the Times-Picayune reported.

Flugence allegedly admitted to having sex with the girl on July 14 before stabbing her four times - in the abdomen and the neck - and then watching her fall back to the blanket, Eserman said.

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'Confession': Matthew Flugence, left, said he was seduced by six-year-old Ahlittia North, right, before he stabbed her to death in Harvey, Louisiana in July. The girl's body was found two days later in a dumpster

'He said he just watched her die,' Eserman testified in the hearing on Wednesday.

After the alleged grisly killing, detectives said Flugence, who is the nephew of Ahlittia's step-father, carried on with his day, even attending a family birthday party.

The little girl was reported missing when her mother Lisa North, 20, and stepfather Albert Hill, 46, discovered she had vanished from her bedroom in Harvey.

Three days later, her body was found wrapped in a blanket inside a garbage bag and dumped in a trashcan that was left out on the curb near to where she lived.

Discovery: The girl's stabbed body was found three days later in a dumpster in the street near her home

Devastation: Lisa North, mother of the missing six-year-old girl, weeps after the body was found in July

The trashcan had previously been checked and nothing was found inside, but it was searched again after DNA tests showed that a pool of blood found nearby was that of the missing girl.

Arrest: His brother Russell Flugence, pictured, said Matthew told him he had killed the girl

Flugence was arrested carrying a knife that he said he had used to kill the girl. Tests are still underway to determine if it was the murder weapon.

Authorities noted issues with his four recorded statements; police told him there were bullet casings near her body and he claimed he shot the girl, but there were no gunshot wounds to her body.

'In his first statement, he says he shot her,' Eserman testified. 'Then he goes into, "I don't know how she was hurt. There was just blood".'

Likewise, despite his claim that he had sex with the girl, an autopsy showed no evidence of sexual activity, the Times-Picayune reported.

He also called the weapon both a pocket knife and a sword, police said.

It is not yet clear whether defense attorneys will seek a mental evaluation for Flugence in a bid to avoid a death sentence.

Evidence, including the knife and the blanket, is still being processd at the Sheriff's Office Crime Lab.

After hearing the testimony, a judge ruled that Flugence should continue to be held on a charge of first-degree murder without bond.

Missed: The girl's step-father is Flugence's uncle. He had looked after her several times before her death

Loved: A young neighbor places a toy at a memorial for Ahlittia outside her home in July

He also faces charges of sexual battery after allegedly sexually touching a 10-year-old relative in April or May of 2012. The girl revealed the incident the day Ahlittia was killed.

Flugence's brother, Russell Flugence, 21, was also charged with failing to report a felony after he claimed that his brother told him he killed Ahlittia. He has pleaded not guilty.

After her body was discovered in July, Ms North told the Times-Picayune: 'They could have brought her back home, but they killed her and put her in a trash can.'