GUILTY AZ - Savannah Cross, 2, beaten to death, Phoenix, 11 Dec 2012

Police say the reason for her not breathing is suspicious at this point. They believe she may have been beaten to death.

Sgt. Trent Crump said the child had obvious signs of trauma to her body...............

Police have located the mom and are questioning her along with the care givers.

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DairyGirl said:

Why didn't the "mom" put her up for adoption where she would have been loved and treasured?

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Cross died in December 2012, and according to court documents had "extensive trauma to include deep tissue bruising, pattern bruising, swelling and abrasions from head to toe, front to back"... One of the girl's eyes also had significant injuries, which police said likely caused a permanent loss of vision...

Phoenix police were able to gather evidence showing Savannah had been sexually abused. Court documents cited specific DNA evidence and injuries to Savannah to support the charges. The medical examiner's testing also revealed "critically elevated levels of methamphetamine" in Savannah's system.

Now, both Clement and Reed have been charged with second-degree murder and child abuse. Reed still faces additional charges of sexual conduct with a minor.

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A Maricopa County judge dismissed murder and child-abuse charges against a couple indicted in the death of a 2-year-old girl left in their care after prosecutors failed to produce crucial forensic reports related to the fatality...

But the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office failed to produce a key autopsy report about Savannah’s death, and a prosecutor formerly assigned to the case repeatedly told a judge that the report was in the works — statements that turned out to be incorrect.

The Medical Examiner’s Office said the complexity of child-abuse homicide investigations, the office’s high caseload and low staffing levels all contributed to the delayed report, which an out-of-state lab is completing.

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Phoenix Police Sergeant Trent Crump tells New Times 27-year-old Ryan Reed was arrested Thursday night on two counts of child molestation...

The dropping of charges [in September 2013] caused outrage among many people, including some people associated with Anonymous, a collective of Internet activists. The Anonymous activists started demanding justice for Savannah and even put together a campaign to put Savannah's mother, a former "exotic dancer," out of a job, as she had left her daughter in Reed in Clement's care 24 hours a day for weeks...

Documents cite specific DNA evidence and injuries to Savannah to support the molestation charges.

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Medical examiners said a 2-year-old girl who died a year ago was murdered while she was in the care of a Phoenix day care.

The final medical report released Thursday in the December 2012 death of Savannah Cross, who was weeks away from her third birthday, said the cause of death was multiple traumatic injuries, acute methamphetamine exposure and dehydration...

Police responded to a 911 call from the home and found the child’s crib filled with materials and pillows that inhibited her from fully lying down, while boxes of wood flooring on top of the crib prevented her from getting out, according to the documents.

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According to the autopsy report, some of the other injuries included an apparent cigarette burn on the girl's hand, a healing eye injury, an apparent bite mark on her leg most likely caused by an adult, bruising all over her body and the presence of several drugs in her system...

Reed was re-arrested in November after evidence showed he allegedly molested the little girl, according to authorities.

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On December 5, 2013, Ryan Reed was charged with one count of sexual conduct with a minor and one count of child abuse in connection with [Savannah].

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Cathy Cross, Savannah’s grandmother, described what it was like seeing the autopsy photos for the first time.

In the first photo I saw, nothing looked like Savannah except for her teeth. I couldn’t recognize her except her teeth.

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Two people who ran an unlicensed home day care in Phoenix have been indicted in the December 2012 death of a 2-year-old girl, a spokesman with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office confirmed Monday.

Allison Ann Clement and Ryan Alan Reed are each charged with second-degree murder in the death of 2-year-old Savannah Cross, court records show. Reed also faces two counts of sexual conduct with a minor and four counts of child abuse. Clement faces two counts of child abuse.

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The night before Savannah’s death, Reed claimed as Savannah laid on the floor he tried to step over her, but accidentally tripped over her and “inadvertently kicked” her with his first foot, then “stomped” on her abdomen with his second.

Savannah was said to curl up in a ball and was grabbing her abdomen for the rest of the evening. Reed and Clement eventually put Savannah in her playpen. The “playpen” Savannah was placed in was reported by police to be a crib full of materials and pillows that inhibited her ability to lay down. Boxes of wood flooring were used on top of the crib to prevent Savannah from getting out.

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The family is requesting to do a combined trial. They are getting drained, emotionally, physically and financially. The trial is set to be held in Phoenix, Arizona. Savannah’s dad lives in Moffat, Colorado and her grandmother lives in Ft Wayne, Indiana. Separate trials force the family to travel for both cases. The trials are expected to last roughly four months. That includes Reed and Clement’s sentencing, that will occur 30 days after their conviction.

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