DNA results expected today

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Results of DNA tests to determine if a girl found beheaded here last year is a missing 5-year-old from Miami should be released today, police said.

A press conference to discuss the results has been scheduled for 1 p.m. today at Kansas City police headquarters.

DNA from the mother of the Florida girl, Rilya Wilson, arrived in Kansas City on Monday.

Sgt. Dave Bernard of the Kansas City police homicide unit has said the lab would have the results quickly if the tests appear to eliminate Rilya's mother as that of the girl nicknamed "Precious Doe," whose body was found in Kansas City in April 2001.

Bernard said it could take longer, perhaps weeks, if a complete series of tests were required to confirm a match. Crime lab officials have given the samples top priority.

Bernard refused Thursday to speculate on what the results would indicate.

The Department of Children & Families in Florida lost track of Rilya last January. That's when the girl's caretakers say she was removed from their home by a woman who said she was a DCF worker. The caretakers say the girl was never returned. DCF skipped required monthly visits and reported her missing April 25. The girl was born to a homeless cocaine addict and taken by the state when she was five weeks old.

Police have said Rilya has many similarities to Precious Doe, including their approximate ages, height, weight and body frame.

Last week, police in Kansas City compared a palm print of Precious Doe to one provided by Rilya's caretakers. The prints didn't match and police said they would look to DNA tests to definitively rule out a match.