NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AFP) -- A 43-year-old convicted rapist has confessed to killing a young Japanese tourist whose body was found in New Orleans last September 2, police here said Friday.

The New Orleans Police Department said in a statement that Timothy Joe Henson was in custody in Panama City, Florida, after walking into a police station there on Thursday and confessing to strangling Kanako Ohyama, 21.

The statement described Henson as a transient from Oklahoma who had been in New Orleans for four months at the time of the murder.

"He has allegedly confessed to meeting Ms. Ohyama in a downtown park on September 2, then leading her across the river to a secluded levee and strangling her," said the statement.

It said Henson had been released from prison in Oklahoma in 2002, after serving 15 years for rape. It did not specify whether Ohyama had been sexually assaulted.

On August 31, Ohyama left the guest house she had just checked into to explore New Orleans, a popular tourist destination for young Japanese travelers, according to police. The hostel's staff reported her missing when she did not return for several days.

On September 4, prompted by an anonymous phone call, police found her body in a wooded area next to the Mississippi River. Police said she had been dead for several days.

The police statement said Henson was expected to be brought to New Orleans on Saturday and charged with first degree murder.