By Christopher Baxter and Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger

CLAYTON — The teenage brothers were known around town for their love of BMX bicycles. And one of the boys, the 15-year-old, had developed a reputation for stealing them to break them down for parts, friends said.

Twelve-year-old Autumn Pasquale owned a bike like that. White, with maroon handlebars. She lived up the street and around a corner, 17 houses away. She rode that bike through the neighborhood all the time. She was riding it Saturday afternoon, the last time anyone saw her alive.

Today, in a case that has devastated the southern New Jersey community of Clayton, Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean Dalton said the 15-year-old lured Autumn to his home with the intention of stealing the bicycle for parts. And there, Dalton said, the teen and his 17-year-old brother killed her.

The announcement, during a late-afternoon press conference, came 18 hours after investigators found Autumn's body stuffed in a recycling bin on a derelict property next to the brothers' home.

"Today we mourn the loss of a young girl named Autumn Pasquale whose life was tragically cut short before it really began," said Dalton, his eyes moist. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to her parents, her family."

Investigation into death of 12-year-old N.J. girl 20 Gallery: Investigation into death of 12-year-old N.J. girl

Dalton did not name the teens because they are juveniles. But numerous people in the community, including relatives, teachers and a law enforcement official familiar with the case, identified the 15-year-old as Justin Robinson and his older brother as Donte Robinson.

Both were charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with evidence, improperly disposing of a body and theft. Justin Robinson also was charged with luring.

The prosecutor said he is considering charging the two as adults, a move that would drastically increase penalties if they are convicted. The brothers surrendered to police with their attorneys this afternoon.

They were being held in a juvenile detention facility in Camden County pending a hearing, said Bernie Weisenfeld, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office. Gloucester County does not have a juvenile facility of its own.

An autopsy showed Autumn died of strangulation. Dalton said the preliminary exam indicates she had not been sexually assaulted. The girl’s bike and other personal items were found inside the home, which Justin and Donte Robinson share with an 18-year-old brother, their mother and a new stepfather.

As a detective wheeled the bicycle from the Robinson home this morning, neighbors let out a collective gasp.

Autumn Pasquale murder brings more than 1000 out to prayer gathering 16 Gallery: Autumn Pasquale murder brings more than 1000 out to prayer gathering

They knew the bike. It had been described in round-the-clock news reports since Saturday. Photos of Autumn, a petite blonde with blue eyes, had been all over television and the internet. Hundreds of residents had taken part in searches for the girl, a seventh-grader at Clayton Middle School, a recreation league soccer player and a cheerleader.

Twenty law enforcement agencies, including the State Police and the FBI, participated in the hunt. In the end, it was the Robinson brothers’ own mother, Anita Saunders, who provided police with crucial information leading to the arrests.

Without going into detail, Dalton said the mother discovered suspicious Facebook postings on an account held by one of her sons. With that in hand, investigators developed additional evidence leading to the recycling bin, Dalton said.

For Autumn’s family, there is only grief.

"There’s evil everywhere, even in the small town of Clayton," the girl’s great-uncle, Paul Spadafora, said at a separate news conference thanking all those who had searched for Autumn.

Tonight, relatives gathered at the home Autumn shared with her father, a former postal worker, and her two siblings, Natalie and A.J. The family declined comment.

Not far away, more than 1,000 people gathered at Clayton Baptist Church for a vigil in Autumn’s honor. Fewer than 500 fit inside the modest church, where crying mourners prayed and joined in singing "Amazing Grace." Others prayed and sang outside.

Afterward, Spadafora thanked the many law enforcement officials and volunteers who aided in the search for Autumn. He also said she is in a better place.

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"We believe she is where God wanted her to be," Spadafora said. "So the ending here is sad, but for the relatives that have greeted her in Heaven, it's a happy day."

Clayton Mayor Tom Bianco said the town had been rocked by the killing. Clayton, a largely blue-collar community about 22 miles south of Camden, has little serious crime and prides itself on a spirit of caring and neighborliness, he said.

Now, one of their own is gone.

"It's shocking," Bianco said. "A 12-year-old girl won’t be able to celebrate her 13th birthday. Her mother and father won’t be able to kiss this girl for the rest of their lives. They’ve been robbed of themselves."

It was unclear how well Autumn knew the Robinson brothers. Her Facebook page shows she was friends with Justin Robinson, but the prosecutor declined to discuss any relationship.

He also provided little information about how the teen allegedly lured Autumn to his house, what happened inside or whether any kind of weapon was used in the strangulation. Asked if the girl’s body had been mutilated in any way, Dalton declined comment.

Neighbors and friends of the brothers provided a portrait of two teenagers who were acquainted with trouble.

Corey Hewes, 19, a recent graduate of Clayton High School, said he knows all three of the brothers who live in the home, its worn white exterior taking on mold. Justin Robinson, Hewes said, was a known troublemaker who would steal BMX bikes from around town for their parts.

Even so, he said, he never would have imagined him capable of murder.

"I’ve never seen Justin mad," he said.

Justin Robinson and his 18-year-old brother, Michael, attend Clayton High, said John Whartenby, 16, a junior at the school. Others said Donte Robinson attends Bankbridge Regional School, part of the Gloucester County Special Services School District, in Sewell.

"I know all three of them," Whartenby said. "They were always in trouble."

"They were into biking, BMX, that stuff," Whartenby said. "They were always looking for parts and that kind of stuff."

James Johnson, 65, a substitute teacher in the Clayton school district for seven years, said he sometimes came across the boys in school.

"You try to mentor everyone," Johnson said. "All of our kids are so valuable. But some of our kids need more help than others."

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The brothers’ estranged father, Alonzo Robinson, feared his children might be involved in something after receiving phone calls from other relatives around 3 a.m. today. Pictures of the home he once shared with them were on the news.

Though he’s had no contact with his sons for about seven years, Alonzo Robinson said the teens were known for stealing bikes in the neighborhood and that one of his sons had previously been charged with theft. He declined to say which one.

"I think someone wanted the girl’s bicycle," the father said. "Maybe she wanted her bike and resisted, and one of them snatched her off a bike."

His ex-wife, he said, has a mortuary license and once worked at a funeral parlor in Atlantic City. State records, however, show the license expired last year.

Saunders, the mother, remarried just a few weeks ago, her Facebook page shows. Beneath one picture of her and her new husband, commenters tell her she looks nice. Among them is her son, Justin. In a separate comment, she thanks everyone.

On Saturday night, hours after he allegedly helped kill Autumn, Justin wrote back.

"Welcome, mommy."

Star-Ledger staff writers Amy Brittain, David Giambusso, Dan Goldberg, Ryan Hutchins, Salvador Rizzo and Jeanette Rundquist contributed to this report.

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