Man Pleads Guilty To 14-Year-Old's Rape, Slaying

PITTSBURGH,None — A man suspected of raping, stabbing and killing a 14-year-old Sheraden girl pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Thursday.

Tushon Brown, 35, was charged with the assault and slaying of Lauren Deis, of East Liberty. Investigators said Deis' body was found July 13 near a Dumpster along Sheraden Boulevard, near Langley High School.

Deis' mother had reported her missing on July 7.

The plea was part of a deal that will send Brown, a registered sex offender, behind bars for life without the possibility of parole.

In a statement read in court on Thursday, Deis' mother said to Brown, "You stole my daughter's life."

Brown faced the judge and said, "I apologize to her family and friends. I am ashamed and sorry. You have every right to feel the way you do."

Police said Brown's wife is the one who cracked the case, saying she put the pieces together after finding blood in the couple's home.

Police said Brown met Deis during a chance encounter on July 7, the day her mother reported the girl missing. Brown told police that Deis agreed to have sex with him for $200, but Brown said he took the money back and they got into a violent argument.

Brown then told police that Deis attacked him with a knife and he fought back, stabbing her at least a dozen times and killing her.

Tranquilli introduced new evidence into the case last year when he told the judge Deis was stabbed nine times in the upper body and neck, piercing her heart and lung.

She sustained multiple defensive cuts to the palm of her left hand and arms. Those happened as she was fighting for her life, Tranquilli said.

"One wound constituted an attempt to disembowel her," Tranquilli said.

The commonwealth's sole witness, Pittsburgh homicide detective James Smith, recalled Brown's confession after the dismembered and decomposing body of Deis was discovered.

According to Smith, Brown said after making sure Deis was dead, Brown cleaned the knife with bleach and put it back in the kitchen, cleaned the carpet and washed all of the bloody evidence, including his clothes.

Brown is a convicted sex offender who was released from prison on good behavior in 2008. Tranquilli said the DA's office wrote a letter to the parole board advising they keep him in jail, but Brown was still released.

"There was a very strong letter to the parole board indicating that this guy is a sexual predator, found to be a sexual predator, and we strongly oppose any parole for him," Tranquilli said.

Tranquilli said if Brown was not set free Dies would still be alive.

Channel 11 News has learned that since this case broke, District Attorney Stephen Zappala has authored new legislation to require all released sexual offenders to wear electronic monitoring bracelets.

Previous Stories: July 28, 2010: Assault Charges Dismissed Against Mother Of Sheraden Slaying Victim July 27, 2010: Sheraden Residents Hope New Plan Will Stop Violence July 22, 2010: Rape Victim Calls Sheraden Slaying Suspect 'Monster' July 20, 2010: Suspect In Sheraden Girl's Slaying Held Without Bond July 16, 2010: Police: Sex Offender Admits To Killing 14-Year-Old Girl July 15, 2010: Body Found Near Sheraden School Was Missing Girl, 14

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