Murder victim's identity mistaken, DNA shows
Jay
The Associated Press
12/29/01 1:54 PM
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) -- A Citronelle family went into an emotional tailspin
after authorities said genetic testing confirms that a murder victim's
body has been misidentified as their missing teen-ager.
"This has thrown us for a loop," said Rita Ryder, the grandmother of
17-year-old Alesha "Sissy" Charles, who is missing.
Police believed that a decomposing body recovered in January during a
murder probe was Charles, but DNA testing now shows it wasn't. The
cremated remains of the body had been turned over to Charles' relatives.
"Her ashes are in her mama's bedroom," Ryder told the Mobile Register in
a story Saturday.
Charles' mother, Candy Rodrigue, was distraught. Her blood samples were
used in the DNA testing and didn't match the body, Mobile County
prosecutors told a judge Friday.
She said despite the apparent fact that the ashes she has lovingly
attended since May are those of another person, she remains convinced
her missing daughter is dead.
If Charles were alive, Rodrigue said, she would have come home by now.
"She loved her family. She never left and didn't call home, never,"
Rodrigue said.
Charles disappeared March 6, 2000, from the Turnerville area in
northeast Mobile County, according to family members.
The body found in January was discovered after an Arkansas woman
reported that her boyfriend had taken her to where he claimed to have
left a murder victim.
Authorities believed the remains were Charles and charged the man with
killing her.
The mistaken identity now has altered, but not ended the prosecution of
42-year-old Anthony Mann, of Sheridan, Ark. The anonymous victim's name
has been changed to Jane Doe.
Mann appeared Friday before Mobile County District Judge Michael McMaken
and notified that the charges in the Charles murder had been changed to
"victim unknown."
Mann remained in jail on $100,000 bond. Trial was set for Jan. 18.
During the investigation, Mann had pointed to a missing persons poster
featuring Charles, telling his girlfriend that he had killed the teen.
According to the girlfriend, Mann then drove her to the spot where he
said he dumped the body, but she did not get out of the car and look
because she was afraid. The girlfriend later contacted authorities, who
found the badly decomposed body in the area where she directed them.
So where is Alesha Charles?
"It is possible, although unlikely based on what her family says, that
she could still be alive," Assistant District Attorney John Furman said.
"It's been close to two years since her disappearance. I would think
that if she were alive, she would have contacted them by now. "
He said Mann has many contacts in Arkansas and other states.
If Charles is dead, Furman said, " her body could be anywhere."
Copyright 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
______________________________________________________________
Maybe there's another body at the place where Mann said he dumped the
Alesha Charles, in other words perhaps there was more than one victim!
ciao
Jason