Credit:CNN photo credit: Australian photographer
For months, Australian police have been working to identify the body of a girl found discarded near a suitcase on the side of highway,now they know who she is. DNA analysis showed that the remains are that of two-year-old Khandalyce Kiara Pearce, south Australian Police (SAPOL) said in a press conference wednesday. they also revealed that a body found dumped in Belango State Forest in the state of New South Wales in 2010 belonged to the girls's mother,20-year-old Karlie Jade Pearce-Steveson. The investigation started in July when the child's body was found by a passerby alongside the Karoonda highway in South Near the body was a faded, greying black suitcase, aquilt, and items of children's clothing, including a black party dress and a Dora the explore T-shirt. At one point the child had been stuffed inside the suitcase, police said. Officers issued a public call for information to identify the child, but it wasn't until earlier this month that a phone call to a crime hotline suggested that it may be Khandalyce. DNA testing confirmed her identity. Forensic testing also led police to identity her mother, who had also suffered a violent death, they said. The mother and daughter weren't formally registered as missing. "Ms Pearce-Steveson and Khandalyce are from a loving family. both were born in Alice Springs but we know that during 2008 they moved away from their family and started to travel,'detective Superintendent Bray said. over the next yaer, contact between the two and their family started to become less frequentfrequebt , and in september 2009 Pearce-Stevenson's mother filed a missing person report. however a week later it was withdrawn. Police are now trying to piece together what happened to the mother and child, who were last seen in Novemer 2008, driving along the stuart Highway near Coober pedy, north of Adelaide in South Australia. We are calling on every community across Australia to provide any information they have to police that may help solve this crime. if you know something, please contact police now." They want to haer from landlords, motels and caravan where the pair could have stayed." Those responsible for this crime are trulyevil and remain amongst us in the community and must be held accountable for what they have done," Bray said.
