MARIHA TRENICE SMITH - 5 yo - Detroit MI

Last Updated: July 29. 2011 1:07AM
Family of missing 5-year-old determined to keep searching
The Detroit News

Detroit — Konesha Smith is determined not to let anything stop her from finding her 5-year-old daughter, especially not the boarded-up doors of vacant houses on the west side.

Mariha Trenice Smith has been missing since Sunday, and for the past five days, her family has searched and posted fliers around the neighborhood, asking for information on her whereabouts, hoping she's alive.

Investigators said Thursday they are awaiting a DNA test to determine whether a body found in a burned vacant house a mile from where she went missing belongs to Mariha.

And until the results come through, Konesha and her family will keep screaming her name with the hope that she might reply.

"You're not going to know anything until they find out who that body is," Michael Williams, boyfriend of Mariha's grandmother, said Thursday afternoon.

Mariha went missing between 3 a.m. and noon Sunday from the home of her aunt, Quanita Smith, who lives on the 3800 block of Burlingame on the west side.

Based on stories from the family and the layout of the house, it appears the kidnapper opened a window screen, moved a box fan from the window and climbed in over the couch where Konesha said she laid, passed out from being drunk, to take Mariha.

Family members said Konesha Smith passed her lie detector test Monday, but Quanita did not. She was held by police on outstanding traffic violations, Sgt. Eren Stephens said.

Police also were interviewing Quanita Smith's boyfriend, relatives said.

Meanwhile, authorities are investigating the remains at the charred house in the 2900 block of Waverly.

The body matched the description of Mariha, Wayne County spokesman Dennis Niemiec said Monday, citing an autopsy. Investigators were using a DNA sample to determine if the body is Mariha's.

The found girl, who was suffocated to death, had her skull crushed and was set on fire, according to the Wayne County Medical Examiner's autopsy.

Police said Thursday they are seeking a person of interest in the arson at the Waverly Street house and released a videotape of the man they say bought 41 cents of gasoline at a BP station two blocks away around 7:47 a.m. Sunday — about 10 minutes before the fire started. The store gave its surveillance tapes to police.

The man is described as in his 20s, with short hair and about 5 feet, 9 inches tall. In the video, he was seen wearing a white T-shirt, black shorts and black shoes.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detroit Police at (313) 596-2260 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110729/METRO01/107290385/Family-of-missing-5-year-old-determined-to-keep-searching#ixzz1TVJgzu6v

DNA shows dead girl in burning home is missing Mariha Smith, 5

2:27 PM, Jul. 29, 2011

The charred remains of a little girl found in a home Sunday are those of missing 5-year-old Mariha Trenice Smith.

Dennis Niemiec, a spokesman for Wayne County, said the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office was notified by police this afternoon that a DNA test to determine the identity of the burned girl was positive for Mariha.

“We just got confirmation a little while ago,” he said.

He said the family has been notified.

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.

Her burned body was found on the 2900 block of Waverly Sunday morning.

The Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the girl died of asphyxiation before she was set on fire, Niemiec has said.

Her mother, Konesha Smith, 24, has told police she passed out after a night of drinking at gathering at the home she shared with her sister. A polygraph test indicated she was being truthful, police said.

The girl’s aunt and her boyfriend were also questioned.

Contact Gina Damron: 313-223-4526 or gdamron@freepress.com


http://www.freep.com/article/20110729/NEWS01/110729048/DNA-shows-dead-girl-burning-home-missing-Mariha-Smith-5?odyssey=tab|topnews|img|FRONTPAGE

DETROIT (AP) — A DNA test confirmed that the charred body of a young girl found in a burned-out Detroit house was a 5-year-old who was reported missing by her mother, Detroit police said Friday.
Detroit
police had been hesitant to link the missing girl to the burned body
until the return of the DNA test. But the results from the Michigan State Police Crime Lab confirmed it was Mariha Trenice Smith, police said in a news release.
An
autopsy earlier this week revealed the girl was strangled and her body
burned after she died. Her skull also had been crushed. Her death is
being investigated as a homicide.
"My niece suffered. She didn't have to suffer," Dominique Poole said after learning about the DNA match. "This is crazy."
Konesha
Smith told police she last saw her daughter about 3:30 a.m. Sunday
sleeping on a floor in their home. She said she didn't notice the girl
was missing until about 12:30 p.m., when she called police and an Amber
Alert was issued.
Firefighters found the girl's body about 8 a.m. Sunday on a mattress in a burning two-family flat about a mile from her home.
Smith has said a window in her home was "wide open" and a screen removed when she discovered her daughter was missing.
But
she also told reporters she and her daughter were sleeping in the same
room, and she did not know how anyone could have taken the girl. She and
other family members voluntarily submitted to lie detector tests
earlier this week while the search for Mariha continued through alleys
and vacant houses in the girl's neighborhood.
Police
said Thursday a man videotaped buying gasoline at a neighborhood gas
station was a "person of interest" in the torching of the vacant
two-family flat.
The man made a purchase about 7:45 a.m. Sunday, and police asked for the public's help in identifying him.
"Right now, we can't bring her back," said Diane Henry, Mariha's grandmother. "Mariha was a happy baby. She was just a happy, pretty baby. She was a special child."
http://www.westport-news.com/news/article/Burned-body-identified-as-missing-Detroit-girl-1644049.php

Mariah Trenice Smith was a sweet, shy girl who loved to sing and suck her thumb. Fighting
through tears and frustration, her family mourned the 5-year-old Friday
after learning her DNA matched a body found in a burned out house about
a mile away.
"She was always happy," said grandmother, Diane Henry. "I wish I could see my grandbaby."
Wayne County officials on Friday said genetic testing identified the
body as Mariah. She was last seen about 3:30 a.m. Sunday sleeping on a
floor of a house in the 3800 block of Burlingame on the west side. About
four hours later, firefighters discovered the charred remains of a
child's body in an abandoned house on the 2900 block of Waverly.
Police this week held Mariah's aunt Quanita Smith, who lives in the Burlingame
home, after she failed a lie detector test. Henry said the woman was
released, returned to the house Thursday and left after an argument.
Quanita Smith's boyfriend also failed a lie detector test, Henry said.
Mariah died of asphyxiation and was set on fire atop a mattress in the Waverly
home, county spokesman Dennis Niemiec said earlier this week after an
autopsy. The girl's skull was also crushed, but it's unclear when.
"It's sad, and it's sick," Dominique Poole, Mariah's aunt, said Friday from
the Burlingame house's porch. "To see a pretty little kid like that just
get tortured, whoever did this is sick."
Mariah's mother, 24-year-old Konesha Smith, was inside the home
Friday afternoon, but didn't to speak to reporters.
She reported Mariah missing at noon Sunday, prompting an Amber Alert.
During a lie detector test, she told police she was drunk and passed out
when her daughter was allegedly kidnapped. The front window was open,
and a kidnapper would have had to move a fan and climb over a couch
where her mother slept to grab the girl.
Konesha Smith and her four children had been staying at Quanita Smith's house for the past
couple of months. Mariah's siblings are 4, 2 and 6 months, and only the
4-year-old understands she went missing, said an aunt, Shanicqua Payne, 23.
Police do not have any suspects, Sgt. Eren Stephens said.
Investigators are looking for a man seen purchasing 41 cents of gasoline
at a BP station two blocks from the burned out house about 10 minutes
before the fire Sunday. Surveillance footage of the man was made public Thursday.
"My niece lost her life, and the person who did it should lose theirs," Payne said.
Since Sunday, family members have walked the streets of the west side,
searching in vacant houses and posting fliers asking about Mariah's whereabouts.
Family on Friday asked for donations to help pay for a funeral.
"If you could just reach in your pockets, please help us,"Michael Williams,
Henry's boyfriend, said through tears."God bless you Mariah."
"It put a smile on your face when you saw Mariah," the grandmother said. "She was a real special child."
With tips, call Detroit Police at (313) 596-2260 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110730/METRO01/107300348/Medical-Examiner--Burned-body-is-missing-Detroit-girl--5#ixzz1TdbhoXbi

Mariah Smith's Mother Says Her Sister May Know Something
POSTED: Wednesday, August 3, 2011
DETROIT -- It has been almost a week since DNA testing confirmed the charred body of a girl found in a burned abandoned Detroit home on Waverly Street is 5-year-old Mariah Smith.

The girl's mother, Konesha Smith, has said she thinks her daughter was kidnapped from their home on the city's west side after a family party. She has already taken a polygraph test.

The mother told Local 4 that her sister, Quanita Smith, had failed a polygraph and was being held by police. Police said they were questioning Quanita Smith's boyfriend and two cousins.

Quanita Smith was eventually let go by police.

This past week Konesha Smith said she did not think her sister had anything to do with Mariah's death.

However, Konesha Smith said Wednesday at a fundraiser for Mariah that she is changing her mind about what Quanita Smith might know.

"(Quanita) knows something," Konesha Smith said. "If she wasn't involved, then she knows something."

Konesha Smith said police want to question her sister again, but no one can find her.

There are no suspects in the homicide case. Police have an unidentified person of interest. Surveillance video shows the man buying 41 cents worth of gasoline at a nearby gas station hours before Mariah's body was discovered at the burned house.

Konesha Smith said she wants anyone with information about her daughter's death to just turn themselves in so she can know why it had to happen.

She also said she wants her sister to turn herself into police.
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/28759659/detail.html

Source: Arrest Made In Mariha Smith Case
Detroit Girl's Body Found Burned In Abandoned House
DETROIT -- Local 4 has learned that an arrest has been made in the killing of 5-year-old Detroit girl Mariha Smith.

Smith was reported missing July 24 from her home on Burlingame Street. A body matching her description was found just hours later a mile away in an abandoned house after an arson fire was put out. DNA confirmed the body to be Smith's.

Sources said Mariha's aunt's boyfriend is the man arrested.

Funeral services for the girl were held earlier in the day on Friday.
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/28782027/detail.html?treets=det&tml=det_break&ts=T&tmi=det_break_1_04290108052011

Police arrest man in Mariha Smith slaying

Detroit— Police arrested a man in the killing of 5-year-old Mariha Smith on Friday,
hours after hundreds gathered to mourn her death.
"We have a person of interest that has been arrested based on preliminary
findings by the homicide unit," Detroit Police Sgt. Eren Stephens said Friday.
The arrest was made late Friday afternoon, she said. The
man is the boyfriend of one of Mariha's aunts, a source told The Detroit News.
Earlier Friday, family and friends came together at Triumph Church to
say a final goodbye to Mariha, who was found dead in a burned-out house
on the city's west side last month.
Mariha's funeral began at noon today and drew a near-capacity crowd, which almost filled the
church that has a capacity of 800. Many family members wore white
T-shirts with a photo of the young girl on the front. Throughout the
service, many broke down in tears with Mariha's mother, Konesha Smith,
having to walk out at one point.
Following the ceremony, family and friends headed to Detroit Memorial Park in Redford where Mariha will
be laid to rest. It was an emotional end to a story that captured the focus of the entire city.
"I'm here today because I want to pay
honor to an angel, Mariha, who left too soon," Detroit Police Chief
Ralph Godbee said. "Detroit, we failed miserably. This is our fault."
Raphael Johnson, founder of the civic group Detroit 300, expressed the frustration many felt over Mariha's tragic story.
"We send out our condolences," he said. "We love her. We're angry. We're outraged."
Mariha was last seen around 3:30 a.m. on July 24 at her house on the 3800
block of Burlingame Street. Detroit firefighters discovered her charred
remains around 8 a.m. the same day in a burned-out house about a mile
away on the 2900 block of Waverly Street. She died of asphyxiation and
was later set on fire inside the vacant house.
Her death is being ruled as homicide, but Detroit police said Thursday they don't have any
suspects and the investigation is ongoing.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on Thursday announced a $2,500
reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the
person or persons responsible for her death. Crime Stoppers is also
offering a $2,500 reward for help solving the crime.
Police last week released a video of a man purchasing 41 cents of gasoline at a gas
station two blocks from the Waverly house about 10 minutes before the
fire. He's considered a person of interest in the case.
Quanita Smith, Mariha's aunt, and her boyfriend both failed some aspect of a lie
detector test with Detroit police last week. Quanita Smith rents the
house where Mariha went missing and was involved in a family argument at
the house after being released by police last week. Family members
haven't seen her or her boyfriend for more than a week.
"I think they're just hiding," said Dominique Poole, Mariha's aunt, on Thursday.
Mariha's headstone, burial site and coffin have been donated along with
numerous other contributions from the community in the wake of her death.

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110805/METRO01/108050386/Police-arrest-man-in-Mariha-Smith-slaying#ixzz1UCdhhBu6

Detroit police have made an arrest in the gruesome murder of a 5-year-old girl, MyFoxDetroit.com reports.
Darnell Cheatham, the aunt's boyfriend, was
taken into custody Friday as a person of interest in the death of Mariha
Smith. The little girl was staying at her aunt Quanita Smith's house
when she was kidnapped last month. She was then suffocated and set on fire.
"It's good, but it doesn't bring her back.
It's a sad day because it shouldn't have happened," family friend Gennett Cooper told the website.
Family members suspected it was Cheatham
after investigators released a video of a man buying gasoline two blocks
from where the little girl's body was found.
"My family, we just don't do stuff like that, but I guess I'm proven wrong,"
Neka Myatt, Mariha's cousin, told the website.
Family friends point the finger at the aunt for her niece's murder.
"For her, all I got to say is I hope you rot in hell, really, both of them," Dominique Poole, Mariha's aunt, said.
Mariha was laid to rest Friday.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/08/06/detroit-police-make-arrest-in-gruesome-murder-little-girl/#ixzz1UG5tw6d4

September 23rd, 2011

DETROIT — A suspect in the slaying of a 5-year-old Detroit girl whose
burned body was found in a vacant house has been released from jail.

The man was let go Friday after being held since Aug. 5 for violating probation in a previous home invasion case.

He has not been charged in Mariha (mah-RY'-ah) Smith's
death. He had been in a relationship with the girl's aunt and was
arrested after testing positive for using marijuana.

Mariha's mother reported the girl missing July 24 from
their east side home. A few hours earlier, firefighters found the burned
remains of a child in a vacant house about a mile from their home.

DNA tests later confirmed the body was Mariha's. She had been strangled and her skull was crushed.
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/bdaffb05081946b3948954c28712284b/MI--Missing-Girl-Detroit/

Two young girls -- one killed and the other missing -- will be
honored during separate services today, family members of both children
said.
A prayer service for the family of 2-year-old Bianca Jones
will be held at 6 p.m. at Greater Phillips Temple Church of God in
Detroit.
Bianca was reported missing on Dec. 2 after her father,
D'Andre Lane, told police he was carjacked at gunpoint near East Grand
Boulevard and Brush Street.
The car was found less than a mile away at Philadelphia and Beaubien, but Bianca was not in the vehicle.
The
Wayne County Prosecutor's Office has received a warrant request in
connection with Bianca's disappearance, but said the decision on whether
to issue charges isn't likely until next year.
A vigil is planned
for 6 p.m. in honor of Mariha Smith, a 5-year-old whose body was found
burned in an abandoned Detroit house in July after she disappeared from a
nearby home.
The vigil will be held in front of 2918 Waverly, where Mariha's body was found, her grandmother Diane Henry said Friday.
After
Mariha went missing, her mother told police she had passed out after a
night of drinking at a gathering at the home she shared on Burlingame.
When she awoke, Mariha was gone.
The Wayne County Medical
Examiner's Office determined Mariha died of asphyxiation before her body
was set on fire, a county spokesman previously said.
No one has been charged in connection with her death, the Prosecutor's Office said.
http://www.freep.com/article/20111224/NEWS01/112240406/Vigils-set-for-missing-girl-girl-who-was-slain?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE