Image copyright Fairfax County Police Department Image caption Darwin Martinez Torres has admitted rape and murder

A Virginia man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for the rape and murder of a Muslim girl near a mosque during Ramadan.

Darwin Martinez Torres, 25, attacked Nabra Hassanen in June 2017 as she walked with friends after a pre-dawn meal in a crime that shocked the US.

Investigators said they found no evidence it was a hate crime.

Torres pleaded guilty in November to all eight counts in a plea deal that spared him the death penalty.

Image copyright FACEBOOK - ISRA CHAKER Image caption Nabra Hassanen died of blunt force trauma

Nabra and her friends were returning to the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) mosque, in the Washington DC suburb of Sterling, when Torres pulled over in what authorities described as a road rage incident.

Torres followed the group in his car as they ran into a car park before jumping out, wielding a baseball bat. He attacked Nabra and pulled her into his car.

Police captured the construction worker hours later as he circled the area of the attack with blood stains in his vehicle.

Torres eventually confessed to Nabra's killing, leading authorities to a nearby pond where he had left her body.