Murder charges filed Wednesday against the former boyfriend of a 19-year-old strangled and left in a burning car in Minneapolis don't provide a motive for her death.

Zachery O. Matthews, 21, of St. Paul, told police that Kristine Larson was already dead Dec. 19 when he arrived at his apartment. He said he found her in a hallway closet, placed her body in her car and drove it to an alley in the 2200 block of 24th Avenue S., the court document said.

He denied killing her or setting the car on fire, the document said.

The day of her death, Larson, of St. Paul Park, went to Matthews' apartment to pick up their 2-year-old son, Darion. He left the child unattended when he drove Larson's body to Minneapolis, the document said.

Matthews, who was arrested Sunday, is charged with second-degree murder and is being held at the Hennepin County jail in lieu of $1 million bail.

In the days after Larson's death, Matthews spent timing grieving with her family. Relatives said he was constantly trying to restart their relationship, which had ended about six months ago.

DAVID CHANEN