Medical Examiner: Toddler Dontrell Melvin Suffered Violent Death
HALLANDALE BEACH (CBSMiami) – The Broward County Medical Examiner's office has determined that Dontrell Melvin, whose skeleton was found buried in the backyard of a Hallandale Beach home, died as a result of a homicide.
"The medical examiner has determined it's definitely a homicide and is definitely caused by violence," said Hallandale Beach Police Chief Dwayne Flournoy.
Dontrell's remains were found in January during an investigation into his disappearance. His parents, Calvin Melvin, 27, and Brittney Sierra, 21, have both been in jail since January in connection with the case.
Dontrell went missing in July 2011, but no one reported him missing until January 2013. His disappearance didn't come to light until child welfare investigators responded to a child neglect call on January 9 and found only two children when there should have been three.
The Broward County Medical Examiner's Office said Dontrell died as a result of "violence of undetermined means."
"He (the medical examiner) said if it's blunt force trauma or gunshot, or anything like that, but he said there was definitely violence in the death of Dontrell Melvin."
Earlier this month, the Hallandale Beach Police Department received DNA results from the body which revealed, "genetic data are approximately 31.2 trillion times more likely to be observed under the scenario that the unidentified remains originated from a biological child of Brittney J. Sierra and Calvin Melvin Jr. as opposed to the unidentified remains originating from an unrelated individual from any of the three major U.S. population groups."
Melvin has since been jailed on charges of giving false information to a law enforcement officer regarding a capital crime. Sierra is charged with child neglect. Neither parent is charged with homicide as of Friday morning.
Sierra has two other children, including one fathered by Melvin.
