BREAKING NEWS: New Evidence Points to Possible Ritual in Body Theft

by Noah Cohen
ncohen@bergenlivemedia.com

STAMFORD, CONN (July 8, 2009) New evidence found in New Jersey and Connecticut point to a possible ritual in the theft of a 2-year-old girl’s body from a Stamford, Conn., cemetery, police said

Stamford Police Capt Richard Conklin said items found in recent days at the grave and in New Jersey pointed to a possible ritualistic motive.

He declined to elaborate on the specific evidence found, citing the ongoing investigation.

The child’s body was found by two fishermen in the Passaic River in Clifton on Sunday and police later determined it was the same body stolen from Woodlawn Cemetery in Stamford.

Conklin said an armband on the body led police to make the identification. He would not discuss details of the armband.

Police  said the body was in good condition when it was discovered in the river.

The Stamford Advocate newspaper identified the child as 2-year-old Imani Joyner, who died in 2007 from semilobar holoprosencephaly, a condition that kept her brain from developing fully, the Advocate reported.

According to the newspaper, Stamford Town Clerk Donna Loglisci said she signed documents allowing authorities to exhume the child’s body Monday.  The information could not be independently verified at the time of this report.

A police spokesman did not immediately return a message seeking confirmation.

Lt. Richard Berdnick, who is leading the Clifton investigation, was not immediately available for comment at the time of this post.

Anyone found guilty of interfering with a cemetery or a burial ground could face a maximum penalty of 5-years in prison, said Lt. Tim Shaw of the Stamford Police Crimes Against Persons Unit.

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