( CNN ) -- A 14-year-old suspect in the murder of a 4-year-old boy found drowned and then stuffed into a clothes dryer in Mendota , California , has been charged as an adult , authorities said Tuesday . Fresno County , California , District Attorney Elizabeth A. Egan said Raul Renato Castro was charged with special circumstances , including murder during a child molestation , sodomy , kidnapping and murder of a witness to prevent testimony . Castro faces separate felony charges of kidnapping , sodomy and child molestation , Egan said . Under California law , a 14-year-old is not eligible for the death penalty or a sentence of life without the possibility of parole , according to a statement from Egan 's office . If found guilty , the boy could receive no more than 32 years to life plus 15 years . The incident began Friday afternoon , when Alex Christopher Mercato 's parents discovered that the child , who had been playing outside their house , was missing , Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims told reporters Monday . The parents called police , who began to search the neighborhood and nearby parks in Mendota , 33 miles west of Fresno , she said . Soon , the FBI was called in . On Saturday , authorities resumed the search door-to-door . They did not have to go far . In the house next door to the Mercatos , authorities discovered the boy 's body stuffed inside a dryer in a closet , Mims said . An autopsy determined he had drowned . The teenager , who had been the only member of his family who was at home on Friday afternoon , was arrested and booked into the juvenile justice center , Mims said . Castro is the sole suspect in the case , she said . He is to be arraigned Wednesday in Fresno County Superior Court .
Under California law , a 14-year-old is not eligible for the death penalty or life without parole . Comment: The age of consent in most states varies by state and county. Raul Renato Castro was charged with murder , sodomy , kidnapping .