Mississippi autopsy confirms child’s body in garbage bags
Published 1:03 pm Tuesday, September 17, 2019
(AP) — An autopsy confirms that remains found in garbage bags in a Mississippi basement belonged to a small child.
Meridian Police Chief Benny Dubose tells The Meridian Star the Friday autopsy found a badly decomposed body with a broken rib on one side and cracked ribs on the other. Dubose says the autopsy also found burns.
Police have charged 35-year-old Celeste Louise Smith of Meridian with capital murder and child neglect. She led police to the body Wednesday after another woman reported her 5-year-old son, Jakie Toole, had been missing since April. Police say Smith once took care of the boy and his siblings.
Dubose says officials are awaiting results of a DNA test to confirm the body’s identity.
Smith is jailed without bail and waived a preliminary hearing Monday.