Emily Rimel: Skull found, suspect indicted

After a long year and a half, there is finally proof of what police had suspected for most of that time (http://www.nbc4i.com/news/9279482/detail.html):

Remains Positively Identified As Emily Rimel's
Madison Township Girl
Last Seen In December 2004
POSTED: 10:37 am EDT May 26, 2006
UPDATED: 6:39
pm EDT May 26, 2006
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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A child's skull found Tuesday is that of a
missing Madison Township girl, sources told NBC 4.
Emily Rimel was last seen
in December 2004 inside her home. The 5-year-old girl disappeared from the home
while a family friend was visiting.
The friend, Lindsay Bruce, was
later convicted of kidnapping Rimel.
On Tuesday, a child's skull was found
by a woman who was fishing with her son along Big Walnut Creek in southern
Franklin County, NBC 4's Nancy Burton reported.
DNA was taken from three of
the five teeth in the skull. At the state's crime laboratory, the DNA was
matched with the girl's DNA, along with the DNA from her mother and father,
Burton reported.
"We were concerned about the sample due to the exposure to
the water and the length of time that it had been missing," said Lynn Bolen, BCI
lab director.
Police obtained Rimel's DNA from a winter coat, Burton
reported.
"We knew that this day was going to come," said Madison Township
Police Chief Greg Ryan. "We were hoping it was the other way around, and we
could walk her through the front door of her mom's house and give her to her."
Jane Rimel, the girl's mother, said earlier this week that she was holding
out hope that Emily would be found alive.
"I had a beautiful granddaughter,
who was very exuberant, loving and caring, and I no longer have her," said Mary
Schimpf, Emily Rimel's grandmother.
Detectives believed the girl died, but
Bruce was not charged with her murder. Bruce was accused of raping her after
Rimel's DNA was allegedly found on his genitalia, NBC 4 reported. A jury later
found Bruce not guilty on the rape charge.
Bruce was sentenced to 10 years
in prison, the maximum sentence possible for the kidnapping charge, NBC 4
reported.
Last year, detectives said they were confident that Bruce knew the
location of Rimel's body.
The judge in the rape trial agreed, saying in
court that Bruce was the only one who knew where Rimel was.
Police said they
will begin searching again for more skeletal remains. Meanwhile, the prosecutor
said he is preparing to file additional criminal charges against Bruce.
"We
now can establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Emily Rimel is, in fact, dead,"
said Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien.
That means that O'Brien will
pursue aggravated murder charges against Bruce, which is punishable by death,
Burton reported.
"(We are) considering it as aggravated murder based on
kidnapping, aggravated murder based on rape and aggravated murder based on the
age of the victim," O'Brien said.
Officials said the case is likely to be
presented to a grand jury in about two weeks.
Watch NBC 4 and refresh
nbc4i.com for continuing coverage.

Now the case against Lindsay Bruce is starting to move along (http://www.nbc4i.com/news/9358197/detail.html):

Man Indicted In Emily Rimel's Death
Bruce Could Face Death Penalty If
Convicted
UPDATED: 7:05 pm EDT June 12, 2006
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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A Franklin County grand jury indicted a man on
Monday in connection with the death of a 5-year-old girl.
Lindsay Bruce, who
was already convicted in kidnapping Emily Rimel, was charged with her murder,
NBC 4's Holly Hollingsworth reported.
Bruce, 25, was indicted on four
counts, including two counts of aggravated murder. He was also charged with
murder and tampering with evidence, Hollingsworth reported.
Bruce could face
the death penalty if he is convicted. He is already serving a 10 year sentence,
the maximum sentence possible for the kidnapping charge, NBC 4 reported.
The
indictment came a month after Rimel's remains were found in Big Walnut Creek in
southern Franklin County. A woman who was fishing with her son found the child's
skull.
DNA was taken from three of the five teeth in the skull. At the
state's crime laboratory, the DNA was matched with the girl's DNA, along with
the DNA from her mother and father, NBC 4 reported.
Police obtained Rimel's
DNA from a winter coat, Burton reported.
Rimel was last seen inside her
Madison Township home in December 2004. The 5-year-old girl disappeared from her
home while Bruce, who was called a family friend, was visiting.
Detectives
believed the girl died, but Bruce was not charged with her murder. Bruce was
accused of raping her after Rimel's DNA was allegedly found on his genitalia,
NBC 4 reported. A jury later found Bruce not guilty on the rape charge.
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said he did not expect a plea
agreement from Bruce, who could face the death penalty if convicted.
"He
refused to do it then. He refused to do it thereafter," O'Brien said. "He
refused to do it before the start of the rape and kidnapping trial. I would not
expect there to be any attempt at pleas in this case."
Bruce, who is being
housed at the Warren Correctional Institution in southwest Ohio, is scheduled to
be arraigned on the murder charge later this week, Hollingsworth reported.
Watch NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com for continuing coverage.

Rest in peace, little Emily, and may you get justice!