( CNN ) -- A man has admitted he killed his uncle 's 6-year-old stepdaughter , whose body was found in a Louisiana trash can this week , a spokesman for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff 's Office said Wednesday . Matthew Flugence admitted to detectives Wednesday morning that he stabbed Ahlittia North , a girl he previously babysat , over the weekend , Col. John Fortunato said . Flugence , 20 , was arrested in the case on Tuesday , the day authorities found Ahlittia 's body in a trash can down the street from her mother and stepfather 's apartment in the New Orleans suburb of Harvey . Flugence , who had an outstanding warrant charging him with sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl last year , has been charged with murder in Ahlittia 's death , Fortunato said . `` I do n't know what I else I can say about the character of an individual that just admitted to killing a 6-year-old , '' Sheriff Newell Normand told reporters Wednesday morning when asked about Flugence 's background . `` I think that speaks for itself . '' Flugence 's brother Russell , 21 , was arrested on suspicion of obstructing justice in Ahlittia 's death , Normand said earlier this week . Russell Flugence had information about the crime that he did n't come forward with , and he also had information implicating his brother , the sheriff asserted . Matthew Flugence told investigators that he killed Ahlittia after finding her early Saturday outside the Harvey apartment where her mother and her stepfather -- Flugence 's uncle -- lived , Normand said Wednesday . `` ( Flugence 's ) story is ( that ) in the early morning hours ... he happened to see her out and about , and he was out and about , walking through the neighborhood , '' Normand said . The investigation began after Ahlittia 's mother awoke Saturday to find her gone from the apartment , authorities said . The girl was living with her mother for the summer , but normally lived with someone else in Donaldsonville , about 60 miles to the west , Normand said . After she was reported missing , investigators spent Saturday combing the neighborhood , looking in alleys , Dumpsters and boarded-up fourplexes . They found a pool of blood in one of the buildings , Normand said , and when DNA results came back Monday evening showing the blood belonged to Ahlittia , investigators searched the area again . That 's when they found the girl 's body in a garbage can , wrapped in a blanket from her house and covered in a garbage bag , Normand said . Investigators looked at the garbage can during their first search of the neighborhood , so they know the body was put inside sometime after Saturday , he said . Flugence told detectives Wednesday that he killed Ahlittia on Saturday with a knife that investigators found on him when he was arrested , Normand said . Flugence was arrested Tuesday after people told authorities that he was walking along a road in nearby Westwego , asking for money and telling them he was on the run from police , officials said . Ahlittia suffered four stab wounds -- two to her neck , likely the fatal wounds , and two to the abdomen , Jefferson Parish Coroner Gerald Cvitanovich said . She also had bruises to the front and back of her head , shoulder , lower back , and lower extremities . Cvitanovich said were no obvious signs during an autopsy of sexual assault . When asked Wednesday whether it was hard to believe that Flugence 's relatives did n't know about the sexual assault warrant , Normand said : `` No . '' `` A lot of that information came about during the course of this investigation '' into Ahlittia 's death , he said . CNN 's Melissa Gray and Dave Alsup contributed to this report .
Matthew Flugence , 20 , admitted stabbing 6-year-old Ahlittia North , authorities say . Ahlittia 's body was found in trash can Tuesday , three days after she was reported missing . TL;DR A man who stabbed a 5-year-old girl to death and then tried to cover it up has been charged with murder, police said Wednesday. The girl is the stepdaughter of Flugence 's uncle , police say .