FLORIDA MAN CHARGED IN SLAYING OF GIRL, 11

A Florida man who had been in the Ogden area four days was charged Thursday morning with first-degree murder in the sexual assault and strangulation of an 11-year-old Washington Terrace girl.

John Albert Taylor, 30, appeared before 2nd Circuit Judge Phillip Browning, who said he will set a preliminary hearing date on Friday.Washington Terrace Police Chief Gary Tracy said Taylor was arrested about 9 p.m. Wednesday in a house in downtown Ogden and was booked into the Weber County Jail.

Taylor is accused of killing Charla Nicole King, whose nude body was found last Friday afternoon in the bedroom of her apartment. A telephone cord was wrapped around her neck, a pair of panties had been stuffed in her mouth and she had been sexually assaulted, police said.

Tracy said Taylor had been living with his sister in the same apartment complex as the victim. He came to Utah from Florida about four days ago. He became a suspect after two witnesses told police they saw him in the area of the girl's apartment Friday afternoon.

The chief said fingerprints found in the girl's apartment matched Taylor's prints, which were sent to Ogden by Fort Lauderdale, Fla., authorities.