07-26-2011, 03:39 PM
Det. Free Press
The mother of a 5-year-old who disappeared from her Detroit home this weekend said she is going to Sinai-Grace Hospital this morning for an oral swab so authorities can compare her DNA to that of a charred body found in an abandoned home.
Police, though, told the Free Press that a DNA sample was taken from Konesha Smith on Sunday and that she wouldn’t have to go to a hospital to provide a sample.
Smith said she is “holding out hope” that the body discovered on Waverly is not her daughter, Mariha Trenice Smith.
Mariha was discovered missing Sunday morning. Her mother earlier said she believed someone crawled through a window and kidnapped her daughter sometime between 3 a.m,. and noon Sunday as she slept on the living room floor. Konesha said she was drunk and passed out on the couch after a party at the home she shared with her sister in the 3800 block of Burlingame.
Detroit Police spokeswoman Sgt. Eren Stephens did not comment on the investigation this morning.
The Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office earlier determined the charred body found on Waverly was a girl between the ages of 5 and 7 and that she died of asphyxiation before she was set on fire.
Outside the Waverly home this morning was a growing memorial, including a flowered white cross hung near the door, balloons and stuffed animals.
An official familiar with the investigation told the Free Press that Smith has said she couldn’t remember anything because she had been drunk and passed out on the couch after a gathering at the home she shared with her sister — and a polygraph test Monday indicates she was being truthful.
The girl’s aunt, who an official said had outstanding misdemeanor warrants, is still detained today for further questioning, the official said.
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The mother of a 5-year-old who disappeared from her Detroit home this weekend said she is going to Sinai-Grace Hospital this morning for an oral swab so authorities can compare her DNA to that of a charred body found in an abandoned home.
Police, though, told the Free Press that a DNA sample was taken from Konesha Smith on Sunday and that she wouldn’t have to go to a hospital to provide a sample.
Smith said she is “holding out hope” that the body discovered on Waverly is not her daughter, Mariha Trenice Smith.
Mariha was discovered missing Sunday morning. Her mother earlier said she believed someone crawled through a window and kidnapped her daughter sometime between 3 a.m,. and noon Sunday as she slept on the living room floor. Konesha said she was drunk and passed out on the couch after a party at the home she shared with her sister in the 3800 block of Burlingame.
Detroit Police spokeswoman Sgt. Eren Stephens did not comment on the investigation this morning.
The Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office earlier determined the charred body found on Waverly was a girl between the ages of 5 and 7 and that she died of asphyxiation before she was set on fire.
Outside the Waverly home this morning was a growing memorial, including a flowered white cross hung near the door, balloons and stuffed animals.
An official familiar with the investigation told the Free Press that Smith has said she couldn’t remember anything because she had been drunk and passed out on the couch after a gathering at the home she shared with her sister — and a polygraph test Monday indicates she was being truthful.
The girl’s aunt, who an official said had outstanding misdemeanor warrants, is still detained today for further questioning, the official said.