Police have a Hispanic suspect in custody in the case of a 92-year-old woman murdered inside her own house

Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow have announced that Daniel Rios, 38, was charged in the murder of Annette Hempel inside her Elizabeth home. The prosecutor said that Rios knocked on the door and when Hempel opened it he pushed himself in. “She attempted to scream. He put his hand on her face and pushed her a distance into the living room, onto the floor and then he strangled her,” Romankow said. “He acknowledged that he did this, killed this lady.” Rios walked away with only $360 worth of coins that he took over to a machine at a grocery store and turned into bills. Rios had burglarized dozens of homes since January 2012, including one by Hempel’s house, an incident resulting in him being chased by neighbors. “He would walk home to home, ring door bells. If occupants didn’t answer he would break into their homes,” Elizabeth Police Det. Thomas Koczur said. Rios has a lengthy criminal past that includes burglary and drugs.