(AP) -- The stepmother of a 10-year-old disabled girl has been charged with killing her, and authorities in North Carolina say there they do not have evidence to charge anyone else in the child's death.
Prosecutor James Gaither Jr. said Monday at a news conference that there was no credible evidence to suggest anyone else was involved in Zahra Baker's slaying. The stepmother, Elisa Baker, was charged Monday with second-degree murder.
Zahra, who used a prosthetic leg and hearing aids after being stricken with cancer, disappeared four months ago. Her dismembered remains have been found in different locations in western North Carolina.
The indictment says Elisa Baker had a history of abusing Zahra.
And it says she desecrated Zahra's body to hinder detection and prosecution of the killing.
An autopsy report released Monday shows that medical examiners say the cause of Zahra Baker's death was undetermined homicidal violence. Examiners say many bones were not present for the autopsy, most notably Zahra Baker's skull. Several bones show cutting tool marks consistent with dismemberment.
Documents show that police learned months ago that the freckle-faced little girl was dismembered after she died, but an exact cause of death has not been revealed. The lack of a head may help to explain that - and why it took four months for a charge in her death.
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