The body of 8-year old Ethan Anderson was not found until the following day after the fire that burned the two-story log cabin home of James Lee DiMaggio to the ground.

Ethan’s body was discovered Monday, August 5th, lying on top of rubble at the southeast corner of the home, on the homes’ foundation. Only the south and west walls of the home were left standing.

On August 4th the detached garage sustained minimal fire damage, and this is where Ethan’s mother, Christina, was found inside the workshop area of DiMaggio’s three-car garage after orange flames and smoke were noticed while fire department personnel were fighting the house fire. She had been brutally beaten to death.

Partial excerpts from the Forensic Anthropology Report on Ethan Anderson, reworded to plain English: The top of the head is missing, exposing brain tissue. Both arms are missing, except for a very small portion of the left long bone of the upper arm. (Basically, the ball joint of the left shoulder was all that remained of the left arm). Most of the ribs are reduced to stubs attached to the chest bone of the spinal column. The spine is arched to the right, as a result of burning. The legs are missing from the feet to several inches above the knee. Two separate charred chunks of tissue represent the left and right knee. A third piece represents the left foot. The internal organs are thoroughly cooked.

There is no mention that the top of the head, the arms or the right foot were ever found.

As you can tell from this report, there wasn't much left of Ethan’s body. Where about 7% of Christina’s body was burned, Ethan’s body was probably less than 7% that was not burned, most to the point of cremation.

AUTOPSY SUMMARY OF ETHAN ANDERSON:
Charred remains found in burned two-story house.
A. Extensive charring of entire body with absence of calvarium (top part of the skull), abdominal and thoracic (chest) walls, right arm, left lower arm, right lower leg, and portions of left
lower leg.
B. Thermal related fractures.
C. Charring of internal organs.
D. Charring of bones.
E. No soot in airways; no carbon monoxide testing possible.

OFFICE OF THE MEDICAL EXAMINER’S OPINION: According to investigative information and scene visit, firefighters responded to a call at a two-story log cabin residence in Boulevard, California, on the evening of August 4, 2013.

When firefighters arrived, the two-story residence was fully engulfed in flames. Additional smoke and orange flame glow were noted coming from the corner of the separate garage on the property.

Firefighters put out the garage fire and then found the decedent’s mother underneath a partially melted green plastic tarp. She was found bound, gagged, and with blunt force head injuries. She was pronounced dead at the scene without resuscitation.

The charred remains of the decedent [Ethan Anderson] were recovered the following day by firefighters clearing debris from the burned two-story log cabin residence.

Scene evidence indicated the two separate fires had been intentionally set. Also, the decedent’s family dog was found dead from a gunshot wound in the garage.

The decedent and his mother had been last seen alive on the afternoon of Saturday August 3, 2013.
The residence was owned by his mother’s friend [James Lee DiMaggio].

He apparently fled California with the decedent’s sixteen-year-old sister and was later found in Idaho and shot dead by FBI agents.

The autopsy was performed on August 6, 2013, in the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office. Examination documented extensive charring of the entire body and internal organs. The calvarium (top of the head), abdominal and thoracic walls, right arm, left lower arm, right lower leg, and portions of left lower leg were cremated. He had fractures of the skull, ribs, and long bones; these were most likely thermal-related, but, traumatic causes cannot be completely excluded.

There was no apparent natural disease, although examination was limited by burns.

There was no soot in the airway. Toxicology testing of liver detected no common drugs of abuse. Urine screens detected no illicit drugs or medications. No blood specimen was available for testing.

No cause of death could be determined with certainty due to the large amount of tissue loss and thermal artifact.

Homicidal violence including blunt force injury, sharp force injury, asphyxia, and gunshot wounds cannot be excluded.

While no carbon monoxide testing could be done, no soot was found in the airway to indicate smoke inhalation.

It is unknown whether the decedent was alive at the time of the fire or already dead. It is possible that he died of thermal burns without smoke inhalation in the house fire.

Based on the autopsy findings and the circumstances of the death as currently understood, the cause of death is listed as undetermined (charred remains) and the manner of death is classified as homicide.

Fire personnel guided us through the partially supported burned log cabin to an area in the southeast corner where they had been clearing debris. At 1330 hours (1:30 pm) the charred human remains were examined.

The body was prone with the head pointing north and the thighs pointing south. The top of the skull was absent and the exposed brain was charred.

Portions of charred facial bones including a portion of mandible (jaw) with teeth were identified.

The neck, torso, portion of right arm, and thighs were charred and there were heat artifact fractures of the exposed bones.

Exposed ribs and charred organs including lungs, heart, liver, and intestines were visible on the anterior torso. No external genitalia were identified.

Several additional smaller charred bone fragments were found in adjacent debris.

The remains were still smoldering and hot to touch.

This part breaks down specific areas of the body, listing the parts that were burned:

INTERNAL EXAMINATION BODY CAVITIES: The chest and abdominal cavities are widely open with the charred internal organs exposed.

HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM: The anterior and lateral aspects of the right liver lobe are charred. The gallbladder is charred and contracted.

HEMOLYMPHATIC SYSTEM: A portion of the spleen is charred. The anterior mediastinal tissues (area of the chest between the lungs, the heart and other organs) are charred.

GASTROINTESTINAL SYSTEM: The stomach is contracted with heat artifact and is empty. Loops of small and large intestines have variable degrees of charring.

GENITOURINARY SYSTEM: The left kidney is absent from burns. The testes are not identified due to burns.

ENDOCRINE SYSTEM: The thyroid gland is charred and firm. The left adrenal gland is not identified due to burns.

MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM: There are no obvious fractures of the vertebrae. Only small fragments of the clavicle and the manubrium (upper part) of the sternum remain. Multiple ribs show heat artifact fractures. The pelvis has charred iliac crests and has no other obvious fracture. The skeletal arrangement of muscle present is charred.

HEAD: Only portions of the maxilla (upper jaw), nasal bones, orbits (eye socket), mandible (lower jaw) and sphenoid bone (part of the nose) remain.

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM: The charred brain; portions of the outer layer of the front of the brain, the brain stem, and the rear part of the brain are identified.

NECK: The majority of the neck soft tissue is charred. The charred strap muscles remove with difficulty. The left hyoid wing is not identified in the charred tissue. The tongue is charred and contracted. The cervical vertebrae have no obvious fracture. There is no soot in the airway.

LUNGS: No soot is identified in the bronchi or bronchioles. There are no chronic bronchial asthmatic changes. There is no pneumonia.

A few days ago I learned, the same night of the funeral, Hannah had a slumber party with her cousins. The picture taken showed Hannah and her cousins with big smiles, laughing, but not a shred of sorrow.

Here are a few more questions for my followers to ponder, before the next blog on Friday.

Hannah's mother was brutally murdered; her little brother, burned so badly not all of his body could be recovered and, because of the extensive burns, we don't even know if this little boy was dead before the fire.

I ask you: How could this girl, Ethan's sister, "party" the same night her mother and brother were buried?

Is this the behavior of someone who is "innocent?" Or, is this the behavior we should expect from someone enjoying freedom from her mother, a woman she was already mad at? Freedom from having to watch after a younger brother? Is Hannah the one who took the crowbar and bashed in her mother's head? Is Hannah guilty of one or both of these heinous murders?

Think about all the facts that have been presented since Part One. Read the autopsy reports. Make up your own mind on who you think could be guilty of cold-blooded murder.

Friday I will have more for you to think about, all based on facts.

Until then, please visit my website and check out my books, especially my Bitter Memories series about survival while coping and learning to overcome severe childhood abuse. This insightful journey into my childhood of tragedy and sorrow around every corner will take you on a roller coaster ride that you will not soon forget.

http://sj2448.wix.com/suejulsen