US prosecutor murdered on eve of rap star's drug trial

The body of a federal lawyer who was prosecuting a rap musician on drugs charges has been discovered shot, stabbed and dumped in a remote riverbed. He had gone missing after returning to his offices late at night to prepare for the conclusion of the case.

Jonathan Luna, 38, who was married and had two young children, disappeared late on Wednesday night after taking a phone call at his home in Baltimore, Maryland, then returning to his offices close to midnight. When he failed to return home, his wife called the FBI. Police found Mr Luna's body the following morning, face down in a stream 70 miles away in rural Pennsylvania.

US Attorney Thomas DiBiagio said: "Let there be no doubt. Let there be no doubt that everyone in law enforcement, local police, state police, the United States Marshals Service, ATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms] and FBI, are united. We will find out who did this, and we are dedicated to bringing the person responsible for this tragedy to justice."

Mr Luna, an assistant US attorney, was prosecuting the Baltimore rapper Deon Lionnel Smith, 32, and his colleague Walter Oriley Poindexter, 28, who were accused of dealing heroin and running a violent drug ring from their Stash House Records studio in the city. Smith recorded under the name Papi Jenkinz.

On Wednesday, Mr Luna and the men's lawyers had negotiated throughout the afternoon to reach agreement on a plea bargain. The two men pleaded guilty at the US district court in Baltimore on Thursday lunchtime, about seven hours after Mr Luna's body was found. The charges against Smith carry up to 25 years in prison, and those against Poindexter up to 60 years.

The authorities have as yet not publicly linked Mr Luna's death with the case he was involved in. Smith and Poindexter were in custody when the lawyer went missing. Poindexter's lawyer, Arcangelo Tuminelli, said his client and Smith had both wanted the case settled. "These two defendants had every incentive to want to see Johnathan Luna show up here today," he said. The stylishly dressed Mr Luna, who was black, was considered a champion of the disadvantaged and often wrote letters to newspaper editors on behalf of minorities and the poor. In 1991, he wrote a letter to the editor of The New York Times, saying he was offended at the title of a recent series of articles on the Mott Haven section of the south Bronx where he grew up. The series was titled Life at the Bottom.

Mr Luna wrote that there were people in the neighbourhood, such as his parents, who were "struggling every day to make a life for themselves and their families in Mott Haven. My dad struggled in the restaurant business, while my mom stayed at home to raise my brother and me".

The Attorney General, John Ashcroft, described Mr Luna's killing as a "tragic death", adding: "I express our deepest condolences to Johnathan's family, colleagues and friends."

Law enforcement sources said Mr Luna's bloodstained Honda car was found near his body. They said he had been severely beaten and repeatedly stabbed. The Lancaster County coroner, Barry Walp, said Mr Luna had also been shot, though he declined to identify the cause of death.

More than 100 Pennsylvania state police cadets are searching for clues at the site where his body was found. In Baltimore, detectives were trying to trace Mr Luna's last steps and whether he might have known his attackers. They were also checking his case files. Last year, Mr Luna secured convictions in a series of violent bank robberies in Baltimore.