Body of missing Maine woman found in NH pond

The body of a missing Maine woman whose car was abandoned at a ski area with her toddler unharmed inside was recovered Wednesday from a nearby pond.

Divers retrieved the body of Krista Dittmeyer about a quarter-mile from where her car was found idling early Saturday in the parking lot of Cranmore Mountain ski area in Conway, a town of 10,000 people.

Police said previously that they believed Krista Dittmeyer, 20, was a victim of a crime, but Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young said Wednesday that the case was being investigated as a "suspicious death." She declined to elaborate.

The search for the single mother from Portland, Maine, drew national attention.

Krista Dittmeyer was last seen Friday. Her mother is caring for her toddler, 14-month-old Aliyah, in Bridgton, Maine, where she grew up, about 25 miles from Conway.

On Wednesday, investigators zeroed in on the retaining pond. By late afternoon, the Dittmeyer family's worst fears were confirmed when a hearse retrieved the body, which was taken to the medical examiner's office in Concord, the state capital. An autopsy was to be conducted Thursday, Young said.

The family had offered a $3,000 reward for information and had planned a candlelight vigil Thursday night in Bridgton, Maine.

Dittmeyer moved to Portland shortly after her 2008 high school graduation and had been working as a waitress at a South Portland restaurant, said her older sister, Kayla Dittmeyer, who lives in Colorado.

Dittmeyer's mother, LaNell Shackley, had said she didn't believe anyone had "a vendetta against her."

"She's very lovable, very outgoing" the mother told NBC's "Today" show on Wednesday. "I've asked all of her friends, and they tell me the same thing. They don't know who would want to do something to hurt her."

Krista Dittmeyer's sister said that "for some reason somebody was after her, but we don't know who or why."

Shackley said she last spoke with her daughter on Friday night and was supposed to see her on Easter.

The man identified as the toddler's father was in prison in Maine at the time of the disappearance, although investigators haven't ruled him out as a suspect. Police said he and Dittmeyer were living together in South Portland, Maine, when he was arrested last year on drug charges.

The ski area, which closed in early April, is popular among joggers and dog walkers. It also has a fitness center that is open year-round, but it was not yet open for the day at the time police got the report about Dittmeyer's car, which was found with its engine running and its hazard lights flashing.

WMWV-FM reported Wednesday that a Conway police officer questioned two men who were walking on a road near the ski area just before midnight Tuesday. The men, one of whom had the same last name as the baby's father, told police they were friends of Krista Dittmeyer's, went to Cranmore to look for her and found one of her flip-flops.

Young would not comment Wednesday on what connection the encounter has, if any, to the ongoing investigation. (S)

Teen Girl Patient at Psych Ward was Brutally Sodomized

A Bronx teen sought refuge at a facility designed to help patients like her - vulnerable teens battling emotional issues.

But once inside Metropolitan Hospital's child psychiatric ward, the 15-year-old girl was forcibly sodomized by another patient - an 11-year-old boy, authorities said.

The teen's torment has only compounded in recent weeks because she is still in the same unit where she was attacked last month, awaiting a transfer to a state facility.

The troubled girl arrived at the city-run hospital on Manhattan's East Side on Feb. 23. The girl then described the assault in wrenching detail, telling her mother the boy crept into her room the night before while she was sleeping.

He sat on her back and tapped her on her shoulder. The boy then started feeling her breasts, the girl told her mom.

He pulled down her pants and underwear. She tried to resist, but still he sodomized her. "I tried to push him off, but I couldn't," the girl told prosecutors, court documents say. "I told him to stop a lot of times, but he didn't. He told me to shut up."

The boy was arrested March 11 and charged with a criminal sex act. The boy was arraigned March 29 in family court, officials said.

He pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct and is awaiting sentencing. He faces up to a year in a juvenile detention center. (Reference)

Bronx female cop charged with assault of motorist says man ripped her shirt, exposing her breasts

A Bronx cop on trial for assault broke down on the stand Monday while describing how her breasts became exposed during a violent street brawl with the man she's accused of beating.

Officer Michelle Anglin, 40, testified that spoken-word poet Marlon Smith ripped open her shirt as she and her partner fought with him over a traffic dispute on White Plains Road.

"He grabbed me, threw me to the ground and straddled me," Anglin said through sobs in Bronx Supreme Court. "He went ballistic. He was sitting on my stomach and ripping my shirt open."

Moments later, the single mom realized she was standing topless before a crowd of onlookers.

"I was just thinking how I was on White Plains Road with my breasts out with all these men staring at me," the transit cop said. "I felt humiliated. I was supposed to be a police officer and I couldn't handle myself."

Anglin and Officer Koleen Robinson, 27, are on trial for allegedly pistol-whipping Smith, 38, blinding him with pepper spray and striking him with a baton until his head cracked open.

They also assaulted a man who came to Smith's aide, and never flashed police identification, prosecutors said. The duo is charged with gang assault and official misconduct.

The off-duty cops were driving through Williamsbridge on Aug. 18, 2008 when they allegedly told Smith to close his "f-----g" car door.

Not knowing they were cops, Smith had words with the pair, calling them "bitches," prosecutors said.

The duo got out of their car and savagely attacked Smith, prosecutors said. He later received 25 stitches.

Robinson testified Monday that Smith was the aggressor, hurling degrading insults at the women while beating them.

"I felt violated," she said.

The pair did not tell supervisors of the incident until the following day.

The cops - who work out of Transit District 12 in the Bronx - face a minimum of 5 years in prison if convicted. Both are on modified duty.

Smith, who has a history of arrests for domestic violence and drugs, is suing the NYPD for $25 million. (Source)