ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Registered sex offender Antonio Monroe, 44, appeared in court on Tuesday and entered a plea of not guilty to kidnapping and killing 10-year-old Destiny Huggins last month.

According to police, around 12:07 p.m. on Saturday, July 8th, Destiny’s mother told authorities that the 6-year-old had come home and told her a man had taken her sister from outside their 9th Avenue home.

Around 12:40 p.m., a man reported finding Destiny’s body outside an abandoned home in the 1200 block of 9th Avenue.

Police said both girls showed evidence of strangulation.

Monroe, who was arrested a short time later after a police K9 located him near Woodruff Avenue, is a registered Illinois sex offender from Blue Island, a suburb of Chicago.

He faces charges of First-Degree Murder, Attempted Murder, two counts of Kidnapping and one count of Aggravated Battery via Strangulation.

He is due back in court on September 1st.

Schaumburg Police say Monroe is a suspect in the death of Natalie Negray, 24, who was found dead in a hotel room on July 5th.

Police say Monroe was with Negray prior to her death and the investigation is ongoing.