DNA tests confirm death of missing Romanian teenager

BUCHAREST: The DNA of a missing Romanian teenage girl whose case has sparked massive protests has been found in calcinated human remains at the suspect´s home, confirming her death, prosecutors said Saturday.

"Laboratory analysis done until now revealed the genetic profile of one person, Alexandra Macesanu", the prosecutor´s office for organised crime said in a statement.

The case of the 15-year-old who was abducted while trying to hitch-hike home has shaken the country and led to several high-level resignations after a public outcry.

Although she managed to call emergency services three times and and give clues as to her location, it took police almost 19 hours to intervene. The slow response sparked huge protests against the authorities´ handling of the case, with thousands of demonstrators taking to the streets of Bucharest last weekend.

The suspect is Gheorghe Dinca, a 65-year-old man who was arrested. He confessed to killing Alexandra but also a second girl, Luiza, 18, who had gone missing in April.

The suspect accompanied the police to his house on Friday in search of evidence. The search was to continue on Saturday.

Prosecutors have found blood stains and bones in Dinca´s house.

There has been a major political fallout from the case, with four high-ranking officials being sacked or resigning in the past week.

The latest is education minister Ecaterina Andronescu, who was fired after telling a radio station: "I was taught not to get into a car with a stranger".

She later said that she received news of her dismissal from the media and that her intention had not been to blame the victim.

The interior minister, the chief of police and the head of the Special Telecommunications Service also lost their jobs.

In Caracal, a southern town of almost 30,000 inhabitants, locals said the case has shattered what little trust they had in the police and made fear part of their daily lives.

"I'm afraid to walk down the streets, you

can imagine. We never saw such a thing in our town", a woman living near the suspect´s house said.