Detroit police said they were working to determine whether a girl's charred body found last weekend is that of a 5-year-old girl who disappeared the same day. Konesha Smith, 24, of Detroit said Tuesday she was going to the hospital for an oral swab so officials can compare her DNA to that of the burned child, the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News reported.
Smith's daughter, Mariha Trenice Smith, vanished Sunday morning. The mother said someone crawled through a living room window and over the sofa where she lay passed out drunk and snatched Mariha.
The body of a girl between the ages of 5 and 7 that was discovered Sunday had been set on fire on top of a mattress in an abandoned home about a mile from where the Smiths lived, authorities said.
"The Medical Examiner's Office completed the autopsy this morning and ruled the cause of death as asphyxia. The medical examiner determined the little girl died before the fire," said Dennis Niemiec, a spokesman for the Wayne County Medical Examiner Office.
The Southeast Michigan Crimes Against Children Task Force interviewed a person of interest Sunday, said Special Agent Sandra Berchtold, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Detroit.
Konesha Smith said Monday she was willing to take a lie detector test and police said others have also said they would.
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