Waterford detectives long suspected Dickie E. Anderson Jr. in the 1997 murder of Renee Pellegrino, and over the past 13 years they say a case was built using DNA, inconsistent statements he had made and his admission that he was with Pellegrino shortly before her body was discovered in a cul-de-sac off Parkway South.

With help from the Southeastern Connecticut Cold Case Unit, they obtained a warrant and charged the 40-year-old father of three with murder Tuesday. The strength of the state's case against Anderson was debated briefly in a New London courtroom when he was presented for arraignment Wednesday. A slight man in blue jeans and black T-shirt, Anderson said nothing as he stood before Judge Kevin P. McMahon. He turned and stared coldly at media cameras as he was led away in shackles.

The arrest warrant affidavit detailing the case remains sealed, but some information was divulged when the public defender, Elizabeth Stovall, began an attack on the state's case. McMahon, who signed the arrest warrant and presided over the arraignment, said that the state has a strong case.

"You have his DNA, his inconsistent statements and him admitting being with the victim shortly before the discovery of her body at the parkway," McMahon said.

He ordered Anderson held in lieu of $2.5 million bond and transferred the case to the court where major crimes are heard. Anderson's next court date is June 16.

Pellegrino, an accomplished scholar with a law degree, had become addicted to crack cocaine and turned to prostitution. She was 40 years old and pregnant when her naked body was discovered in a cul-de-sac off Waterford Parkway South on June 25, 1997. She had been strangled, and the killer had left her body in what the judge described Wednesday as an "extreme" condition.

During the arraignment, the public defender said Anderson's DNA and another unidentified person's DNA were found on Pellegrino's body and that another man had confessed to a jailhouse snitch to killing Pellegrino. Stovall said Pellegrino had been seen with many people on the night before her body was found. Police have said Pellegrino was last seen in downtown New London.

"I don't believe the state has very strong evidence at all in this case," she said.

But prosecutor Michael Kennedy and the judge both asserted the strength of the case. McMahon said the state had put its whole case in the lengthy arrest warrant, "warts and all," for the defense to see.

"They're not hiding anything," the judge said.

Waterford detectives who had worked on the case were in the courtroom for the arraignment as well as Margaret White, who said she was a friend of Pellegrino.

"The path she chose was a negative path, but she still was a beautiful person," White said. She said she also knew Anderson and had seen Pellegrino and Anderson together.

"When they were together, they did party a lot," White said.

Both Pellegrino and Anderson were well known in the New London courthouse - Pellegrino for the way she boldly challenged authorities on legal issues when she was brought before them and Anderson as a habitual offender with an arrest record dating back to his teens.

At the time of his arrest, Anderson was on probation for a 2008 conviction for third-degree strangulation and interfering with police. He has five prior assault convictions and history of failing to appear in court, according to bail commissioner Tim Gilman. At the time of the murder, Anderson worked as a mailroom clerk at The Day. He was employed at the newspaper from April 1997 through December 1998, according to company records.

k.florin@theday.com