Has the 'girl in the burning suitcase' murder mystery finally been solved? Police identify victim after 18 years and arrest her parents
- Victim's body found curled in fetal position with finger, hand and footprints burned off
- Body had 21 broken bones from up to six months prior to death
- Teenage girl had been brought to Canada for 'a better life'
- Investigation into 15-year-old brother's suicide also reopened
An 18-year-old cold case may have been solved after police brought first-degree murder charges over the death of Melonie Biddersingh, whose remains were found in a burning suitcase in 1994.
Melonie, 17, was only identified this morning after police arrested her biological father Evertone Biddersingh, 56, and stepmother Elaine Biddersingh, 50, on March 5 in Welland, Ontario.
On September 1, 1994, police on patrol discovered a body in a burning suitcase left in an industrial area north of Toronto. The victim's body was curled in the fetal position and her fingerprints, handprints and footprints were burned off.
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Cold case: Melonie Biddersingh, 17, pictured in her native Jamaica, has been identified as the body found in a suitcase in Ontario in 1994
The only thing they could be certain of was that the female once had curly, black hair.
It appeared as if the victim had been killed elsewhere and her remains put in a green suitcase, dumped and set on fire.
A forensic pathologist said that the young woman had 21 broken bones, consistent with a car accident or fall from a height, according to CTV News.
The injuries were estimated to have taken place up to six months before Miss Biddersingh died and she was not treated, leaving her unable to move and in constant pain.
According to Detective Sgt Steve Ryan of the Toronto police homicide squad, the break in the case came with 'a single phone call' from a 'person of conscience'.
The police then went to Kingston, Jamaica, where they found Melonie's biological mother Opal Austin. After obtaining a sample of her DNA, they were able to finally confirm Melonie's identity.
Ms Austin had believed that her daughter was still alive all these years, Toronto police told the National Post.
According to the Globe and Mail, Melonie was born in Jamaica in 1977 and moved to Toronto with her two brothers Dwayne and Cleon in 1990. It was hoped that the children would have a better life with their father and stepmother.
Unknown: Police released this picture and sculpture of what they believed the young woman would have looked like because the remains were so badly damaged
The couple also had three younger children living with them at an apartment in a block in the Parkdale area.
In 1992, Melonie's brother Dwayne, 15, had jumped from a balcony in an apparent suicide, though Toronto police said they would now be revisiting this investigation.
That’s what made identifying her so hard. Nobody reported Melonie missing at the time. Nobody missed her.
Detective Steve Ryan, Toronto police
Since the death of his brother and sister, the youngest child Cleon had moved to another part of Canada.
Detective Ryan said none of the children ever went to school.
He told the National Post: 'That’s what made identifying her so hard.
'Nobody reported Melonie missing at the time. Nobody missed her.'
A police source also told the Toronto Star that the teenage was beaten, starved and kept in a closet.
Evertone and Elaine Biddersingh were being held in custody until their next court date which has not yet been set.
Tortured: The Toronto apartment block where Melonie Biddersingh was believed to have been starved and beaten while living with her father and stepmother
Scene: Police found the burning suitcase in an industrial neighbourhood north of Toronto in September, 1994
Clues: A replica of the suitcase and clothes the victim was wearing 18 years ago when her badly burned body was found
