UPDATED: Report: Nevaeh's Cause Of Death Out
POSTED: Tuesday, July 14, 2009
UPDATED: 11:31 pm EDT July 14, 2009
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"I am still in an emotional shock that she was taken. Hearing that she was buried alive makes the crime even more heinous," said Shaun Lawson, Nevaeh Buchanan's cousin.
The Wayne County Medical Examiner's office said dirt was found in the girl's lungs, meaning she was either held down to the ground or buried alive.
Investigators said early examinations did not identify a cause of death because no outward signs of trauma were found on Buchanan's body.
Authorities plan to search again the Monroe apartment complex where Nevaeh lived.
Investigators said they plan to question a woman who has ties to George Kennedy and Roy Smith. Both Kenney and Smith are convicted sex offenders and have been named people of interest in the case.
The Monroe County sheriff will hold a news conference Wednesday to release more details.
Video: Nevaeh's Autopsy Done
http://www.clickondetroit.com/video/20053955/index.html
Article:
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/20053320/detail.html
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UPDATED: 5-year-old Nevaeh may have been buried alive, autopsy results reveal
Dirt in lungs reveals clues to girl's death
July 14, 2009
Updated at 8:40 p.m.
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The girl’s cause of death has been ruled asphyxiation; the manner, homicide, a source told the Free Press.
Nevaeh’s aunt, Diana Lawson, confirmed that the family had been told by police that the little girl might have been alive when she was placed in a shallow grave along the River Raisin in Raisinville Township.
“It’s the worst nightmare,” Lawson told the Free Press. “All we can do is take it one step at a time.”
Testing on the girl’s body, including her lungs, show that she died after inhaling dirt. Authorities previously reported that she had no outward signs of trauma — such as broken bones or other wounds — that illuminated how she died.
Nevaeh was laid to rest a month ago Monday after a funeral attended by hundreds. Nevaeh’s mother and grandmother, Jennifer and Sherry Buchanan, are heartbroken, Lawson said.
“Sherry’s at work and she’s not ready even to come home,” said Lawson at about 6 p.m., as media people began swarming the apartment complex parking lot where the women live. “They can’t face this.”
No one has been arrested in the slaying. Investigators have received only partial results of tests the State Police crime lab conducted on evidence from the gravesite.
Article:
http://www.freep.com/article/200907...aeh-may-have-been-buried-alive--autopsy-shows
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UPDATED~ Autopsy: Nevaeh Possibly Buried Alive
Updated: Wednesday, 15 Jul 2009, 6:00 AM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 14 Jul 2009, 4:56 PM EDT
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Autopsy results indicate a 5-year-old girl whose body was found buried near a Michigan river suffocated after inhaling dirt.
The Monroe County Sheriff's Department said Tuesday that Nevaeh Buchanan either was buried alive or had her face forcibly pressed into dirt by another person. The autopsy could not determine the exact manner of death.
No one has been arrested in the girl's death.
Video Report Included In Article!
Article:
http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/brads_edge/090714_nevaeh_autopsy
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UPDATED: 5-year-old Nevaeh may have been buried alive, authorities say
Article published July 14, 2009
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Sheriff Crutchfield said last night in an interview that the girl may have been buried alive — or held down in the dirt, causing her to suffocate. The autopsy showed there was no trauma such as broken bones or bruises to the body, he said.
The sheriff said the exact day or time of the girl’s death couldn’t be determined, but the autopsy indicated she died shortly after she was abducted.
“I can’t give you a day or time. But it would have been soon after she disappeared. Within a window of a day or so, if not on that very same evening,” he said.
Diana Lawson, Nevaeh’s great aunt, said detectives went yesterday to the Food Town in Monroe where her sister, Sherry, works to discuss the autopsy findings.
“They said to her Nevaeh was buried alive,” Ms. Lawson said. “She had a little dirt in her throat. She didn’t suffer anything.”
She said her sister became very emotional after sheriff’s detectives told her about how her granddaughter had died.
“She had tears streaming down her cheeks. She’s very upset,” Ms. Lawson said.
Shaun Lawson, Ms. Lawson’s son and Nevaeh’s cousin, said she was found face down in the shallow grave and naked, with her clothes tucked underneath her.
Sheriff Crutchfield said he wouldn’t comment on whether the victim was found naked or sexually assaulted. “We aren’t discussing those types of details,” he said.
The sheriff said toxicology testing conducted by the medical examiner’s office on the victim showed that she wasn’t drugged.
Ms. Lawson said Nevaeh’s 24-year-old mother, Jennifer, was inside the Charlotte Arms apartment complex last night and was “not taking it easy” upon hearing about the autopsy.
Shane Hinojosa, Nevaeh’s father, learned about the autopsy results from media reports, said his mother, Carla Elliotte.
“He is devastated,” she said.
Sherry Buchanan was at work last night and declined to comment.
“We continue to interview people daily. We are working to tips and they lead us to other tips. We have to clarify those tips and move on,” the sheriff said.
Sheriff Crutchfield said testing being conducted at the Michigan State Police Crime Laboratory on evidence recovered at the gravesite was still ongoing. He refused to comment on what was found at the scene.
Sheriff Crutchfield said investigators are working on the theory that Nevaeh was taken from the apartment complex.
Article:
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090714/NEWS02/907149939
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Autopsy: Nevaeh may have been buried alive
last modified July 14. 2009 7:23PM
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An autopsy showed that Nevaeh Buchanan died of choking on dirt and perhaps even was buried alive, officials confirmed tonight.
Monroe County Sheriff Tilman Crutchfield said he received the autopsy results today.
"The autopsy results have revealed that Nevaeh’s death was caused by aspiration of fine particulate material (dirt)," the sheriff said in a statement. "This means that Nevaeh’s face was forcibly maintained or embedded into a dirt surface. Whether this resulted from another person forcibly pressing her face into dirt or whether she was buried alive could not be determined."
The Rev. Dale Hayford, who has provided spiritual support for the family throughout the ordeal, said they knew for some time that the 5-year-old could have been buried alive but the police confirmed that possibility today.
"They’re just stunned," Pastor Hayford said. "Everybody’s stunned."
Sheriff Crutchfield said investigators still are working on the case daily, following tips and conducting interviews.
Article:
http://www.monroenews.com/article/20090714/NEWS01/707149966
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Autopsy reveals 5-year-old Nevaeh Buchanan may have been buried alive
July 14, 7:14 PM
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The Free Press is now reporting that the autopsy results indicate that Nevaeh may have been buried alive. The 5-year-old’s cause of death has been ruled asphyxiation and the manner of death a homicide.
Tests done on the body show she died by inhaling dirt. There were no signs of trauma to the body.
No arrests have been made in the case, but two sex offenders who were friends of the Nevaeh’s mother, Jennifer Buchanan have been jailed for violating their paroles.
Roy Smith, 48, and George Kennedy, 39, both admitted they violated their paroles by being in contact with Buchanan, since neither was supposed to have contact with anyone who has children.
Authorities named the men persons of interest early on in the case when Nevaeh disappeared.
According to the Free Press, Smith and Kennedy could spend 35 and 13 years behind bars for being associated with Nevaeh’s mother.
Article:
http://www.examiner.com/x-1168-Crim...ld-Nevaeh-Buchanan-may-have-been-buried-alive
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