An ex-convict suspected of murdering a New Jersey teenager was apprehended by New York police yesterday after authorities said he used the victim’s cell phone to call his mother.

Draymond Coleman, 25, was not immediately charged, although Hudson County prosecutors, who are handling the case in New Jersey, issued a warrant for his arrest for the murder of 18-year-old Jennifer Moore.

Authorities found Moore’s body early yesterday in a dumpster near a Weehawken, N.J., hotel. A preliminary autopsy listed the cause of death as blunt force trauma and strangulation, prosecutors said.

Moore’s family reported her missing Tuesday when she failed to come home after a night of partying at a Manhattan nightclub, police said. Authorities tracing her final hours placed her at an NYPD impound lot, where her friend’s car had been towed. While there, Moore’s friend passed out and was taken to St. Vincent’s hospital. Around that time, Moore allegedly wandered off and was spotted on the West Side Highway, where she apparently called her boyfriend from her cell phone.

Authorities said they believe Moore left Manhattan in a taxi with Coleman, with whom she was seen near the New Jersey hotel. Her body was found in a dumpster nearby. Coleman previously was arrested for robbery and assault, among other things, police said. He was released last January from prison, where he served time on drug-related charges.

Outside Moore’s Harrington Park, N.J., home yesterday, her father, Hugh Moore, told reporters his daughter was a smart and popular teenager who never broke the rules. “At this point, it’s like being punched in the stomach, and you can’t get a breath,” he said.

Moore’s murder after a night at a Manhattan bar drew some comparisons to the murder of graduate student Imette St. Guillen five months ago by a nightclub bouncer. In a statement, the Chelsea nightclub Moore visited, Guest House, said: “Management will continue to cooperate with police during the investigation. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Jennifer Moore.”