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Ruby

Well-Known Member
The body of a 13-year-old girl missing since 1986 was discovered today. Her convicted killer decided to clear his conscience, and a judge signed a writ allowing him to leave prison to lead investigators to her body. Which he did, in short order.

I haven't found all of the details yet. Apparently, he was only charged with and convicted of this murder THIS YEAR, so that's why he decided now to locate the body.

"22 years is a long time," said one of her siblings. I'll say. I'm glad this family can finally bury their little girl and perhaps get some answers.

I hate this shit.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/16833478/detail.html

Police Find 1986 Cold Case Body
Convicted Killer Leads Police To Girl He Killed In 1986

POSTED: 1:58 pm EDT July 9, 2008
UPDATED: 9:47 am EDT July 10, 2008


DETROIT -- Police say they have unearthed the body of a 13-year-old girl, missing since 1986.

Eastpointe police Cpl. Martin Genter Sr. said searchers found the remains of Cindy Zarzycki on Wednesday evening.

Genter said his police chief told him the body was found where her killer, Arthur Nelson Ream, led police after being temporarily released from prison earlier Wednesday.

Macomb Township about 15 miles northeast of Eastpointe, where Zarzycki was last seen alive on April 20, 1986.

The remains were found in a shallow grave with what the 13-year-old girl had with her at the time, including her favorite denim purse and some mixed tapes.

Eastpointe Police Chief Michael Lauretti said the family knew it was their loved one.

"They did identify the purse and the contents,” said Lauretti. “They said the cassettes that were in the purse, they believe were 100 percent hers.”

Her family said Wednesday their prayers have been answered and she’s finally come home.

“Twenty-two years is a long time,” said her tearful brother, Edward Zarzycki.

He told Local 4 his childhood ended the day his sister disappeared and he still has things he wanted to tell her.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't there,” Edward Zarzycki said. “I love her and I know she’ll be looking down on us and will be with us forever.”

“I just want to tell everybody that has been praying for us, thank you,” said Cindy’s sister, Connie Johnson. “God has answered our prayers--22 years we've been praying and praying. This may not have been the answer we wanted but God was watching out."

Eastpointe police Inspector John Calabrese told Local 4 that Ream told police Tuesday where he buried Zarzycki's body.

"We offered him (Ream) nothing and promised us nothing. He basically just wanted to clear his conscience," said Calabrese.

Police said Ream drew them a map of the 22-acre area and said they will find a four-foot grave near the Clinton River. Police have suspected the area for a while because Ream used to keep bees on the property.

Judge Mary Chrzanowski, who presided over the murder trial, signed the writ to let him out.

Then a handcuffed Ream was taken out of a northern Macomb County Correctional Facility Wednesday to lead search crews to the body.

“He (Ream) didn’t walk around as though he had murdered someone and buried someone in this spot,” said Macomb County Prosecutor, Eric Smith. “He walked around as though we were looking for a lost piece of jewelry.”

Ream spent about an hour with authorities before he was returned to the correctional facility.

Zarzycki's aunt, Karen Hoeft, was at the search scene. She said their family needs to have closure and plans on having a funeral when the body is found.

A sobbing Hoeft said, "My mother always looked for her for years, and she died nine years ago."

A jury on June 18 found Ream guilty of first-degree murder.

The 59-year-old is accused of meeting with Zarzycki on the day she disappeared at a Dairy Queen on Nine Mile Road on the pretense of taking her to his son's surprise birthday party.

Ream will be sentenced July 22 to life in prison without parole.

He currently is serving a 15-year prison sentence on an unrelated molestation charge involving a 14-year-old girl.

Copyright 2008 by ClickOnDetroit.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 
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Conviction upheld in 1986 Eastpointe abduction, killing

Eastpointe -- The state Court of Appeals has affirmed the conviction of an Eastpointe man serving life in prison in the 1986 abduction and murder of Cindy Zarzycki.
The court, in an opinion issued Thursday, denied Arthur Nelson Ream's appeal for a new trial on claims that evidence presented at his June 2008 trial was "legally insufficient."
Ream, in his appeal, says because Zarzycki's body hadn't been found, there was no evidence to support the conclusion that he killed her with premeditation.
[...]
Testimony, the court says, also established that Cindy was a "happy child" and "had not expressed any intent to run away."
The ruling notes Zarzycki left home April 20, 1986, to walk to a local Dairy Queen to meet Ream, who prosecutors say lured her there on the premise that he'd be taking her to a surprise birthday party for Scott. She was never seen again.
The court ruling says Ream's alibi didn't stand up at trial. It also noted that he told inconsistent stories about knowing Zarzycki, and told detectives that he knew where she was buried.
The court in the Thursday opinion rejected claims that the trial prosecutor committed misconduct by appealing to the sympathy of jurors during closing arguments. Ream argues the prosecutor also engaged in misconduct by claiming Ream's sexual fetish for young girls established his propensity to commit murder.
The appeals court ruled the comments in question did not warrant a reversal because they were taken out of context.
"Although the prosecutor made references that clearly invoked some level of sympathy for Cindy's family...we do not believe that the prosecutor was intentionally trying to get the jury to suspend its power of judgment and convict defendant notwithstanding the evidence," the ruling says. "Therefore, this misconduct did not amount to error warranting relief."
About a month after his conviction, Ream led authorities to a 22-acre wooded site where he said he buried Zarzycki in a 4-foot grave near the Clinton River bank
http://detnews.com/article/20100423/METRO/4230428/1014/rss03
 
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