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Body of missing girl found in Oregon

Mother, boyfriend to face charges in death


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Cassandra Hodges, 4, in shown an undated family photo.
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(CNN) -- The body of a 4-year-old girl reported missing at a California flea market has been found in a shallow grave in Winema National Forest in Oregon, a prosecutor said.

Amanda Hodges, the mother of Cassandra Hodges, and boyfriend Erik Sanchez Guillermo likely buried the girl last week before traveling to California to fake the child's disappearance, according to Ed Caleb, the Klamath County, Oregon, district attorney.

They had reported Cassandra missing while shopping at a flea market in Selma, California, Caleb said.

He said the mother led police to the grave site Monday.

"She led them directly to the spot where we found the body," Caleb said.

"The body was buried a little over a foot deep. It was wrapped in a plastic trash can bag."

Hodges, 20, and Guillermo, 37, both from Klamath Falls, were arrested Monday and were expected to face charges in the case, according to Caleb.

Hodges is expected to be formally charged with murder by abuse, which alleges that she did not intend to kill her daughter but that the death was the result of her reckless conduct, Caleb said. The charge carries a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison and a maximum life sentence, he said.

Guillermo was arrested in Fresno, California, on charges of suspicion of murder and conspiring to commit a crime, Caleb said. He is being held in a Fresno jail on $2 million bail, according to The Associated Press.

Caleb told the AP that Hodges would be charged no later than Tuesday morning.

Caleb said an autopsy on the girl's body is expected Tuesday, the AP reported.



Copyright 2004 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

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