MASARAHA ROSS - 2.5 yo (2009)/ Charged: Father; Lester Ross, Jr. - Winter Haven FL

WINTER HAVEN, Fl. --

Investigators have found bones in an orange grove in Winter
Haven after receiving a tip on a year-old case of a missing mother and
daughter.
Authorities say the case involving the disappearance of 29-year-old
Ronkeya Holmes and 3-year-old Masaraha Ross heated up about two weeks
ago and a recent tip lead investigators to the grove at the intersection
of Dundee and Sage roads.
Detectives and crime scene technicians have been searching the area
all morning, said Winter Haven police chief Gary Hester. The Florida
Department of Law Enforcement and the Polk County Sheriff's Office are
also involved in the search.
Winter Haven police chief Gary Hester said the remains have not been
identified and they don't yet know whether they belong to one more
individuals.
He did say investigators "highly suspect" they belong to the missing mother and daughter.
The skeletal remains were found in a shallow grave, Hester said.
Holmes and Ross, who are from Georgia, were last seen in late 2009.
Officials say that before their disappearance, Holmes had been trying to
get the child back from the girl's father, Lester Ross, after allowing
the toddler to stay with him.
Ross reportedly told police he last heard from the two when he turned Marsaraha over to Holmes at a Haines City Wal-Mart.http://www2.wsav.com/news/2010/dec/22/police-search-fl-orange-grove-missing-savannah-wom-ar-1254673/

[b]TWO BODIES IN GRAVE[/b]

This is so sad, it appears they have been found.

"Winter Haven, Florida -- Within hours of digging near the foot of several orange trees, Winter Haven police say they found: they describe it as a shallow grave containing two sets of human bones, one of an adult and one appearing to be of a child.

"It's going to take a forensic pathologist to examine the remains to give us some insight into gender, age, race," said Winter Haven Police Chief Gary Hester.

Still, given the remoteness of the location and the preciseness of the search area, it suggests a major break in the October 2009 disappearance of 29-year-old Ronkeya Holmes and her 3-year-old daughter Masaraha.

Police contacted family members earlier in the day to let them know what they had found.

"You know our heart goes out to them and at this point we can't confirm that it's their loved ones, but we highly suspect that," said Hester.

Detectives say Holmes had gotten into a nasty custody battle with Masaraha's father, 32-year-old Lester Ross, who was booked on unrelated charges this past weekend.

Investigators have been hesitant to call Ross a suspect, but there was never any evidence, they say, to support his claim that he had handed his daughter over to Holmes at a local Walmart on October 18th 2009.

There was nothing on store security cameras, and Ross's cousin was stopped driving Holme's car that same night. The mother and daughter were nowhere to be found.

"You know he's not been cooperating with police or the FDLE special agent investigators for months now, he's not been cooperative," said Chief Hester.

"I mean, I hope her and her child are found alive," said Diamond Burnham, who says she'd been friends with Holmes for years.

Burnham came out to the search area, hoping the remains found are not those of Ronkeya and her daughter, and that somehow the two are still out there somewhere.

But if the remains are found are those of the mother and daughter, it may, she concedes, it will finally offer family members some small sense of closure

"I know the family is going to be glad that justice will be brought, but whoever did it I just hope they're brought to justice most of all," says Burnham, "and the family will not be happy, you know. The mom will be upset, but she'll be able to sleep well knowing at least her child has been found."

"I would say some nights you can't sleep, or you wonder why it happened," says Archie Forte, Ronkeya Holmes step-father.

Forte had prayed, despite the odds, that his step-daughter and Masaraha would somehow, someday, be found alive. Now, listening to police confirm that human remains had been found here earlier this morning, he says he understands - it may be a matter of closure for him and other family members.

"Well right now, we would know for sure it's over," says Forte.

Acting on a tip, police began searching this particular section of the orange groves, and within hours, found what they confirm is a shallow grave with skeletal remains.

"There's no doubt," says Chief Hester, "That has been confirmed that, this is on fact, human remains."

An agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement aiding in the investigation says an identification will require complex forensic techniques.

David Waller, with the FDLE's Lakeland office says "it could be weeks or months."

Police say cadaver dogs helped scour the area where they found the remains. There are, they say, other spots they may still excavate.

But for now, they've told Holmes' relatives they are concentrating their efforts on the shallow grave, unearthing what may be the long-awaited break in a 14-month mystery.

"We're just hoping to find them and put some closure to it," says Forte.

Ross had been released after his arrest last week, but he has since been located and re-arrested, this time on an unrelated charge of witness tampering. Ross is currently in police custody.

As for this phase of the investigation, police say they will likely be at the groves for several more days."
Eric Glasser, 10 News
http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=163972&catid=8

snipped....

Ross was arrested on Wednesday on charges of tampering with a witness in relation to the case.
Ross told police that he handed off the baby girl to Holmes that day, and has not seen them since.
Heater said investigators have received little or no help from Ross.
"He is not cooperating with us, in fact he has not cooperated with us in quite some time," said Heater. "Obvouosly he is a person of interest. Anytime someone goes missing, the last person to see them becomes a person of interest."
The orange grove is less than two miles from where Ross used to live.
He was arrested in Lakeland on December 17 for Grand Theft and Failure to pay Child Support.

http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_polk/winter_haven/%27significant-progress%27-in-search-for-mom

The search for a missing mother and daughter led to
the discovery of a shallow grave with skeletal remains in a Winter
Haven orange grove and an arrest of the girl's father Wednesday
afternoon.

Winter Haven Police, the Polk Sheriff's Office and the FDLE were acting on a 'credible tip'.

Authorities used ground-penetrating radar and
cadaver dogs after receiving a tip that Ronkeya Holmes, 29, and her
3-year-old daughter Masarah Ross may be buried in the orange grove near
Dundee Road and Sage Road.

The remains belong to an adult and child. While it
hasn't been confirmed, Winter Haven Police Chief Gary Hester suspects
the remains belong to the missing mother and child.

"There's two sets of skeletal remains in the same
shallow grave." he said, "It's pretty apparent this is our little girl
and her mama."

Hester said he's now working a murder investigation.

"It's obvious folks just don't end up in a grove by
natural means," he said. "It's a bittersweet day. We wish we would've
found these folks alive."

Again, the remains found are that of an adult and a
child, but have still not been positively identified as Holmes and
Ross. Forensics experts are now trying to determine the gender, race,
and age of the remains found.
Background info



Holmes and Ross have been missing since last
December. Winter Haven Police said before they disappeared, Holmes was
desperately trying to get her daughter back from the child's father,
Lester Ross, and was also questioning where their daughter was.
Father arrested twice



Lester Ross was arrested last Friday on child
support charges, but police say that arrest had nothing to do with the
search for Holmes and Masarah Ross. He bonded out of jail late Wednesday
morning.

Officers later re-arrested him Wednesday for
tampering with a witness, a first-degree felony. Police say the latest
charge is related to the case.

Winter Haven Police are not calling Ross a suspect
in the disappearance of Holmes or his daughter, but they do say he has
been a "significant part" of their investigation.

Ross left the Winter Haven Police Department Wednesday night, saying he did not murder his 3-year-old daughter or her mother.

Police chief Hester said they had a reason to re-arrest Ross.

"It's based on him attempting to intimidate a witness in this case," he said.

In October, police searched for the bodies of the
mother and daughter at Ross' former home. That dig turned up no
evidence. Ross told police he last saw Holmes and Masarah Ross at a
local Walmart, but surveillance tapes according to police revealed the
two were never there.
Family looking for closure



Ronkeya Holmes' family showed up to the scene and talked about hoping for closure.

"Some nights, can't sleep," said her stepfather, Archie Forte. "You wonder why it happened."

Family friend Diamond Burnham was also hoping for closure.
"The family will not be happy but the mom will be able to sleep knowing that her child has been found," she said.
Leon Forte is the brother of Holmes's stepfather, Archie. Forte believes Ross has to know something.
"I want them to get to the bottom of it, find out something, what happened, because she was a good girl," he said.

WINTER HAVEN, Fl. --

Investigators found skeletal remains of two humans Wednesday in a
Winter Haven orange grove after receiving a tip on a year-old case of a
missing mother and her daughter.
The Winter Haven Police Department also issued a warrant and arrested the father of the missing girl. Lester Ross was charged Wednesday with tampering with a witness in the case of the two missing persons. Ross, 32, hasn't been charged in their deaths, police said.
"We have a great deal of suspicion surrounding him," said Winter Haven police Chief Gary Hester. "We certainly think he plays a key role in their murder and the disposing of their bodies here in this grove."
The police said it received an anonymous call earlier in the week about the disappearance of 29-year-old Ronkeya Holmes and 3-year-old Marsaraha Ross.
The tipster told investigators that they would be able to find evidence
at the orange grove at the intersection of Dundee and Sage roads.
Cadaver dogs searched the location and investigators sifted through
the dirt by hand. They discovered the shallow grave and the human
remains after noticing some softer ground in the area, police said.
It will take weeks to identify the skeletal remains. Investigators
will take the remains to a Tampa lab, where they will be analyzed to
determine gender, age and race, police said.
Investigators told Hester they "highly suspect" the remains are that of the missing mother and daughter.
"Our heart goes out to the family," Hester
said. "It's a terrible tragedy. Your mind just can't comprehend what
would lead someone to do this to a child and this lady if this turns out
to be them."
Holmes and Ross, who are from Georgia, were last seen in late 2009. Officials said that before their disappearance Holmes had been trying to get the child back from her father, Lester Ross, after allowing the girl to stay with him.
Lester Ross reportedly told police he last heard from the two when he turned Marsaraha over to Holmes at a Haines City Walmart. As police escorted a handcuffed Ross on Wednesday night, he denied having any involvement in their disappearance.
"He was one of the last persons that we know that was absolutely with them prior to their disappearance," Hester
said. "Any person that you were last seen with is certainly someone of
interest that you want to pursue and make sure there's nothing
suspicious around that."
Holmes' stepfather, Archer Forte, said it has been a difficult year without her. He said she was fun loving and that he had known her since she was a child.
"It really gets hard," Forte said. "It really gets very hard. I would
say some nights you can't sleep, or you wonder why it happened."
For family members in Savannah, the long wait is also over.

Holmes' mother, Edith Fletcher, told WSAV she's thankful at least they have closure.

"Last Christmas wasn't good either. This Christmas, it's not a happy Christmas but it's a relief Christmas. Now everybody's relieved, the family is. Not just us, but there's so many people that have been waiting along with us," said Fletcher.

She
also had the difficult task of breaking the news to Holmes' 8 year-old
daughter, who has been without her mother and sister for more than a
year.

"I said well your mommy and your sister is with God now,
and she was trying to understand what I was talking about so then I had
to break it down to her and let her know. I said 'I hate to tell you
like this but mommy and sister is dead, so they're with God so you don't
have to worry they're going to be OK.' She was ok after that. She
broke down and cried but she was all right after that."

Fletcher said they're awaiting word from police in Winter Haven, Florida, to find out when they might be able to bring her daughter and granddaughter back to Savannah for burial.http://www2.wsav.com/news/2010/dec/22/4/police-search-fl-orange-grove-missing-savannah-wom-ar-1254673/

My heart goes out to Ronkeya's 8 year old daughter and family. I don't think there's any doubt so moving this to murdered thread.

Lester M. Ross Jr. hasn't yet been charged directly with the fall 2009 disappearance of his
young daughter and the little girl's mother, but police investigators
now think he's the person responsible for it.
Based on police work thus far
in the missing-persons case and incriminating new statements by Ross'
wife, Sharon, "investigators believe that Lester M. Ross Jr. murdered
Ronkeya Holmes to hide the fact that Masaraha Ross was dead and to avoid
any criminal charges" related to the child's death.
That summary is included in a Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE)
arrest warrant naming Lester Ross and charging him with tampering with
or harassing a witness in connection with the missing-persons case.
Winter Haven police released the warrant Thursday, a day after they said they
had unearthed the skeletal remains of two people, an adult and a child
believed to be Holmes and Masaraha Ross, in an orange grove off Sage
Road in northeast Winter Haven.
The warrant includes statements by Sharon Ross that she was with her
husband on Oct. 20, 2009, when Lester Ross drove a rental vehicle to an
orange grove near Dundee Road -- Sage Road runs north off Dundee Road --
removed two sheet-covered items from the trunk of vehicle, went into
the grove with the items and returned later without the items.
Holmes, 29, and her daughter, Masaraha, then 2 1/2 years old, were reported
missing on Oct. 20, 2009, by Holmes' mother and sister.
Lester Ross, 32, of 703 Hemenway Drive, N.E., Winter Haven, was arrested on
the witness-tampering charge at about 6 p.m. Wednesday and, following a
court appearance Thursday afternoon, now sits without bail in the
Central County Jail in Bartow.
In a Monday interview with investigators, Sharon Ross stated "that she believed that Lester M. Ross
Jr. kept the body of Masaraha Ross in a deep freezer in their residence
for several months, never notifying law enforcement of the child's
death," according to the FDLE's arrest warrant.
Sharon Ross stated that her husband told her that Masaraha's death at their home in Winter Haven was an accident.
Police had been told that Lester Ross had been caring for Masaraha over the
summer of 2009 while her mother was finishing classes at a technical
school in Georgia.
On Oct. 14, 2009, Holmes traveled from Georgia to Winter Haven to pick up her
daughter and bring her home, police reported. Police were told that
Holmes and Lester Ross were supposed to meet at the Walmart in Haines
City for a child exchange. According to the arrest warrant, police also
were told that Holmes had been having trouble contacting her daughter's
father, "and when she did contact him, he would always say that Masaraha
was with someone else."
According to the warrant, Sharon Ross stated that on Oct. 20, 2009, after she had
come home from work, her husband made her stay in the rental vehicle
she was driving. Sharon Ross said she saw her husband load into the
trunk of a rental car "two items, each wrapped in sheets, and that it
appeared to her that Lester M. Ross Jr. was struggling and/or straining
to carry the items to the trunk."
Sharon Ross told investigators that she and her husband then went to the
orange grove off Dundee Road and that they left the grove without the
items that had been put into the trunk.
According to the warrant, Sharon Ross stated that after she and her husband
returned from the grove, he "wrapped a power cord for a cellular
telephone around (her) neck and told her that if she ever told anybody
about what happened, that he would kill her."
The warrant states that based
on Sharon Ross' statements and directions to the orange grove that she
provided, law enforcement located the skeletal remains of an adult and a
child in a shallow grave.
A forensic investigation of the remains will be undertaken to determine
whether the human remains found in the grove actually are those of
Holmes and Masaraha.
"We certainly have not been able to confirm the identity, which will take
the work of the medical examiner, the pathologist and the lab results,"
Winter Haven Police Chief Gary Hester said Wednesday afternoon at the
grove. "But based on what we've found, it leads us to believe we have
found the little girl, Masaraha, and her mother Ronkeya."
David Waller, the resident agent in charge of the FDLE's Lakeland field
office, said "It could be weeks or months to get (the pathology) results."
In the meantime, Lester Ross Jr. will remain in the Polk County Jail -- without the chance to post bail.

Police in Winter Haven are working to build a murder case against the father of a little girl missing for more than a year, the police chief says.
Lester Ross Jr. is in jail on a witness tampering charge, accused of threatening to kill his wife, Sharon Ross, if she told anyone what happened.
A judge ruled Thursday that Ross be held without bail, a day after two bodies were found in a shallow grave in a Winter Haven orange grove.
The bodies have not been identified but police believe them to be those of 29-year-old Ronkeya Holmes and 2 ½-year-old Masaraha Ross, the daughter of Ross and Holmes.
"Both of them being in the same shallow grave, one of them being
smaller skeletal remains, the other being larger, it doesn't take a
great leap of faith to come to the conclusion that that's our missing
baby and her mom," said Winter Haven Police Chief Gary Hester.
According to an affidavit, it was Ross's wife who gave authorities
directions to the orange grove where the two bodies were found.
Sharon Ross told an FDLE agent that she returned home in May 2009 to find Masaraha dead. She said her husband told her it was an accident.
Sharon Ross said she believed her husband kept the little girl's body in a deep freezer in their home for several months.
In October 2009, around the time Ronkeya Holmes was last heard from, Sharon Ross
said she watched her husband struggle to load two items wrapped in
sheets into a vehicle, and that he then directed her to drive to an
orange grove off Dundee Road, according to the affidavit.
Sharon Ross
said her husband removed the items from the trunk and carried them
into the orange grove, then after several minutes returned
empty-handed.
She said later when they returned home, Ross wrapped a cellphone power cord around her neck and told her he would kill her if she ever told anyone what happened.
According to the affidavit, investigators believe Ross killed Holmes to cover up the fact that the child was dead.
Authorities say family members told them Masaraha was staying with Lester Ross while her mother went to technical school in Georgia, and that Holmes came to Winter Haven in October to retrieve her daughter.
Ross told investigators last year that he turned over the girl to her mother at a Haines City Walmart and that he had not seen or heard from her since.
"We'll stay with this round the clock long as it takes to make sure that Lester Ross is brought to justice," Hester said.
It could be weeks or even months before a positive identification is made on the bodies found this week, he said.

Police have discovered skeletal remains in a Florida orange grove
that could belong to a Savannah mother and her 3-year-old daughter who
have been missing for over a year, and according to an arrest affidavit,
they were acting on a tip from the wife of the man who they believe was
responsible for their deaths.

Masaraha Ross & Ronkeya Holmes

29-year-old Ronkeya Holmes and 3-year-old Masaraha Ross were reported
missing by family members on October 20, 2009 after Holmes traveled to
Winter Haven, Florida to pick up Ross from the girl’s father, Lester
Ross, who had been caring for her while Holmes finished technical
school. When initially questioned, Lester Ross claimed that he met
Holmes in a Wal-Mart parking lot on October 18, 2009 to hand over the
child and he had not seen or heard from them since.
Ross, 32, has not been charged with causing their deaths, but he was
arrested last week and charged with tampering with or harassing a
witness in the investigation. Court documents now indicate that the
witness he is accused of harassing is his own wife.
In a December 20, 2010 interview with police detailed in the arrest
affidavit, Sharon Ross claimed that she came home to find Masaraha dead
one day in late May 2009, that Lester Ross told her the death was
accidental and that she believed he then kept the girl’s body in a deep
freezer in their home for months.

Lester Ross

Sharon Ross also told investigators that on October 20, 2009—the day
friends and family say they last heard from Holmes—her husband had her
drive him out to an orange grove with two items wrapped in sheets in the
trunk of her rental car that he appeared to be “struggling and/or
straining to carry,” according to the affidavit filed by Florida
Department of Law Enforcement Special Agent Scott D. Gibson. She said
that when she parked the car, he took the items out of the trunk and
carried them off into the orange grove, returning several minutes later
without them.
The current charges against Lester Ross stem from what the document
says happened after they drove back home that day. Sharon Ross allegedly
told authorities that he wrapped the power cord from a cell phone
around her neck and “told her that if she ever told anybody about what
happened, that he would kill her.”
Following her directions, investigators located a shallow grave on
December 22 containing the remains of an adult and a child. Test results
on their identities and causes of death are still pending.
While he had been considered a person of interest in the
disappearances, the affidavit states that investigators now believe that
Lester Ross “murdered Ronkeya Holmes to hide the fact that Masaraha
Ross was dead and to avoid any criminal charges which may have levied
regarding the death of Masaraha Ross.”
Police are awaiting autopsy results before pursuing additional charges against Ross. He remains in jail without bond.

Millions of people across the Southeast and here in the Tampa Bay
area are being asked whether they've seen a missing mother and child out
of Polk County.
Their pictures are printed on coupon flyers going out in the mail and
in newspapers, but police believe they already found them nearly two
months ago.
Ronkeya Holmes' stepfather, Archie Forte of Winter Haven, is forced
to relive the pain all over again. He says a family member brought over
one of the coupon flyers with his 29-year-old daughter, Ronkeya, and his
3-year-old granddaughter, Masaraha, printed on it. The two two went
missing back in 2009.
Click here to read the previous the story.
Ronkeya spent about two weeks with Forte before she went missing. He
says, "She was one sweet loving girl. I mean, I just couldn't see how
this could happen to her."
But Winter Haven police say a tip led them to what they believe are
their remains which were discovered in December of 2010 in a Winter
Haven orange grove.
The child's father, 32-year-old Lester Ross, is charged with
tampering with a witness related to the case. In police records, his
wife claims he killed the two and she was with him when he dumped their
bodies. Forte says, "I mean, she really trusted the guy. She told me,
'Dad, I love this guy. He loves me and I trust him' and so forth and so
on."
Forte says he doesn't think the flyers are really necessary any
longer. "I would like for it to be used for someone else that might
would help them more in their case."
Jamie Brown, a spokesperson with the Winter Haven Police Department,
says they're sensitive to the family's grieving process and they're
trying to make sure it doesn't happen again.
10 News contacted Robert Lowery, executive director of the Missing
Children's Division of the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children out of Virginia. We wanted to know why the agency would waste
space on a case that seems to be resolved.
Lowery says, "What you you have to remember is that when we put out
flyers like that, it takes us months and months to prepare that
information. Had we had that information prior to the preparation of
that flyer, we may have reconsidered but, again, we're still awaiting
confirmation."
Confirmation from an autopsy on the skeletal remains that are due back any day now.
He says the flyer featuring Ronkeya and Masaraha was submitted back
in November before police found what they believe to be their remains.
The two have been featured in nearly 80 similar alerts.
Forte adds, "Only the justice department can handle it. It's out of our hands now."
Meanwhile. we spoke with Ronkeya's mother in Savannah, Georgia. She
says while their family has some closure right now, they still can't
hold a funeral service for Ronkeya and Masaraha until the autopsy is
finished. The coupon flyers are being distributed in Georgia too.
http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=174903&catid=8

Forensic Challenges in Positively Identifying Skeletons Delay Charges

By Rick Rousos
THE LEDGER

WINTER HAVEN | Forensic science is the key for police and prosecutors working to convict someone of killing a woman and girl. But so far, the bodies recovered from a shallow grave in an orange grove have stymied scientists trying to positively identify them.

Detectives said they are sure of the identities — Ronkeya Holmes, 29, and her daughter Masarah Ross, 3 — and they have a suspect — Masarah's father Lester Ross, 34, of Winter Haven.

But more than a year after the bodies were unearthed in East Polk and more than two years since the woman and child were last seen alive, no charges have been filed in the deaths. The bodies have not been positively identified, and there have been problems determining how the woman died.

Ross is in the Polk County Jail on a different charge — tampering with a witness.

Prosecutors said they want to charge Ross with killing his daughter and his ex-girlfriend Holmes, who they say was poisoned when she came looking for her missing daughter.

But they'll have to wait for the science to run its course, said Dr. Stephen Nelson, Polk County medical examiner. He said that wait is about over, meaning weeks, not months.

Ross, who has been in the Polk County Jail since the two skeletons were found Dec. 22, 2010, told The Ledger this week that he didn't kill anyone.

Ross has told police that the last time he saw the mother and child they were alive at a Walmart in Haines City on Oct. 18, 2009.

That's contrary to what his wife has told police.

So what happened?

"Nothing happened," Ross told The Ledger in his brief interview from jail. "Nothing."

The case has worn on Holmes' family.

Edith Fletcher, Holmes' mother and Masarah's grandmother, complains that police are dragging out the case.

"If it was a little white girl in that grave, do you think they'd be done with the case by now?'' she asked.

WIFE'S STATEMENT LEADS TO BODIES

Investigative reports say Ross killed his daughter, who had been staying with him, with a blow to the head, and rather than call 911 as Masarah died, he phoned his wife, Sharon.

Sharon Ross told detectives she thinks the baby's body was hidden in a freezer in their home at 703 Hemenway Dr. N.E. in Winter Haven. She said she saw the child's body after her death but didn't see Ross put the girl in the freezer. However, she told police that after the baby's corpse disappeared, a bunch of heavy items were placed atop the freezer.

Holmes was killed months later when, tired of hearing different stories about Masarah's whereabouts, she drove from South Georgia to Winter Haven looking for her daughter, according to police reports.

"Lester Ross killed her in cold blood to cover up the murder of Masarah," said Winter Haven Police Chief Gary Hester.

As investigators dug up what is believed to be the mother-daughter skeletons, Ross was arrested on the witness tampering charge.

Reports say Ross, who didn't have a valid driver license at the time, ordered Sharon Ross to drive the corpses to the grove. She told police she watched as Ross buried the pair. She said Ross threatened her by tying a cord around her neck and telling her never to breathe a word about what happened.

When Sharon Ross did talk with police, she helped them locate the two skeletons, which were buried about 1½ feet beneath the ground.

"The only decent thing he did is bury them together," Hester said. The child was buried atop the head and torso of the adult.

IN THE LAB

When the bones were initially unearthed, they were taken to the Medical Examiners Office in Winter Haven and pathologists were charged with the task of extracting DNA from the bones.

Nelson said his Winter Haven office wasn't well enough equipped for that job, so he sent the skeletons to the C.A. Pound laboratory at the University of Florida. He said good DNA was extracted from the adult skeleton. But the child's DNA has been problematic.

Pathologists were able to extract DNA from that skeleton, he said, but that material couldn't be amplified enough to make up a good sample. He said the UF pathologists tried to at least establish a mother-daughter relationship, but they were unable to do so.

About six months later, in mid-2011, the bones were sent to the Florida Department Law Enforcement in Tampa, but the same problem has been encountered there. Nelson said he checked recently and was told pathologists are still trying.

If they don't quickly get more detailed results, Nelson said he is prepared to pull the plug and proceed with what is already known.

Hester said the identification has been difficult because there are no medical or dental records to aid investigators. He said people commonly have misconceptions about forensic pathology.

"They watch ‘CSI,' and they think something can be done in 15 minutes," he said. "We call it the ‘CSI' syndrome."

LEGAL TIMING

Prosecutors say Ross will eventually be charged with murder, but the question is when.

One factor is the legal requirement that a defendant receive a speedy trial. The clock starts ticking against prosecutors when charges are filed.

Under Florida law, a defendant arrested for a felony must be brought to trial within about six months unless the defendant waives his or her right to a speedy trial. The clock can speed up even more if a grand jury indicts a defendant for murder.

After that, the defendant can make a demand for a speedy trial, and prosecutors must be ready for trial in 60 days.

Police say there's no reason to hurry the homicide case they are building against Ross because he's in jail without bond.

They say there's also no problem with the main witness, Sharon Ross, changing her tune, because she's already given a sworn, cross-examined statement about the murders in the pending witness-tampering case.

Bartow defense lawyer Rusty Franklin, a former prosecutor, said there could be problems trying to use depositions from one case in another because a judge might not allow that.

"When is the right time to charge someone?" Franklin asked. "Under these facts and circumstances, it appears the prosecution should wait until all the lab reports are done. ... Lester Ross isn't going anywhere."

Hester and Nelson said they understood the concerns expressed by Fletcher, the mother and grandmother of the pair believed to have been killed. They said her accusation of racism was understandable, too.

"She's frustrated, and I don't blame her," Nelson said.

http://www.theledger.com/article/20120113/NEWS/120119674?p=1&tc=pg

December 14, 2012

Man indicted in deaths of 2 found in orange grove

The Associated Press

WINTER HAVEN — A central Florida man has been indicted in the deaths of his 3-year-old daughter and her mother, two years after their skeletons were found in an orange grove.

The remains of Ronkeya Holmes and her daughter MaSarah Ross were found in a Winter Haven orange grove in December 2010.

MaSarah's father, Lester Ross Jr., was charged Thursday with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter. Ross has been held without bond since 2010 on a related witness-tampering charge.

Police tell The Ledger (http://bit.ly/QYMVVn) MaSarah died in 2009 while with Ross, who kept her body in a freezer for months until Holmes arrived to check on the girl. Police say Ross poisoned Holmes and buried the woman with MaSarah.

A message left Friday for Ross' attorney was not immediately returned.

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