Police: DNA analysis shows remains likely missing boy

Dontrell Melvin last seen in 2011; Parents charged in his disappearance

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. ā€“ A DNA analysis shows the remains found buried behind a home in Hallandale Beach are likely a boy who was last seen in July 2011, police say.

Dontrell Melvin was last seen when he was six months old. His parents, Calvin Melvin Jr. and Brittney Sierra, are both charged in connection with their son's disappearance.

According to the Hallandale Beach Police Department, a University of North Texas DNA analysis report found "genetic data are approximately 31.2 trillion times more likely to be observed under the scenario that the unidentified remains originated from a biological child of Brittney J. Sierra and Calvin Melvin Jr. as opposed to the unidentified remains originating from an unrelated individual from any of the three major U.S. population groups."

Both Calvin Melvin and Sierra want their charges dropped. Melvin is charged with three counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer and Sierra is charged with child neglect resulting in bodily harm.

A Broward Sheriff's Office deputy discovered the boy was missing while investigating an unrelated child neglect case on Jan. 9.

Police say Melvin and Sierra blamed each other for the child's disappearance, but both told detectives where to find the child. The remains were found buried in the back yard of a home the couple rented in Hallandale Beach.

The remains police found had blunt trauma injuries, according to Hallandale Beach police reports. But the reports indicate the injuries were caused by police officers during the recovery process.

"To completely know that there's a kid lying somewhere and it's like nothing, it hurts, it's sad," said Iris Innis, who lives nearby. "Somebody had to know something to me. If you had a child and the child is missing somebody has to ask questions, and the questions should have been asked a long time ago."