LEWISTON — Authorities have confirmed that remains recovered last week in woods in Lisbon are those of Christiana Fesmire, 22, of Lewiston, who had been missing since July 1, 2011.
Christiana Fesmire
A spokesman for the state's Medical Examiner's Office said Tuesday that DNA taken from the remains and examined at the Maine Crime Lab matched that of Fesmire. The cause and manner of death were "homicidal violence with facial fractures," said Mark Belserene, a spokesman for the office.
Buddy Robinson, 31, of Lewiston, was convicted of murder following a two-week trial last month in Fesmire's death.
He has not been sentenced.
Fesmire's mother, Deborah Fesmire, said Tuesday her daughter was an "awesome" person who wouldn't harm anyone. She said Fesmire loved children, particularly her nephew, and was looking forward to having children of her own someday.
"It saddens us that she was never given that opportunity," her mother said.
The family held a standing-room-only memorial service for Fesmire last year on her birthday, Dec. 17. There will not be a second service, Deborah Fesmire said, because they do not want to put grieving relatives through another funeral.
Fesmire's parents plan to keep her cremated remains at home after they're released, at least for a while.
"We don't want Christiana to be alone. She's been alone for 17 months," her mother said.
Eventually, Fesmire will be buried at a site the family chose nearly a year ago, with a head stone large enough to accommodate her parents and siblings, so that even in burial she'll be with family.
Deborah Fesmire praised the work of Lewiston police and Maine State Police, saying the officers "have done their best and beyond" in finding her daughter's killer and bringing her body home.
"I couldn't ask for anything more," Fesmire said. "They're upstanding citizens, and they just work and work and work and work."
She declined to talk about Robinson before his sentencing, saying only, "He deserves a fair trial and we do not want to interfere, even with our feelings."
Robinson is expected to be sentenced in the spring.
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