Investigators busy in burned baby case

MILO – Maine State Police say the investigation into the remains of a badly burned infant found almost a year ago at a Lyford Road home is very active at this time.

The remains of the infant were recovered April 2 from a pile of burned debris in the back yard of a home owned by Ralph Disley, 46. Also living at the residence at the time was his wife, Kelly, and their two teenage daughters.

State police Sgt. Stephen Pickering confirmed Friday that two investigators have been working on the case this week because they now have information they did not have last spring.

He said the officers were interviewing several people who have been involved with the family since the remains were discovered.

Police received a tip last spring from a resident who reported what he believed were the remains of an infant on the Disley property. When police arrived at Disley’s home, they found the homeowner allegedly burning the infant’s body in his back yard. His property was secured until the remains were removed and taken to the state medical examiner’s office in Augusta.

Disley was then arrested and charged with abuse of a corpse. He was taken to the Piscataquis County Jail, where he posted $200 cash bail and was released. Because an investigator missed the date of Disley’s court appearance, the charge later was dismissed.

No one knows if the infant was born alive or stillborn, or if the baby was related to someone living in the house.

Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland said in April that medical examiner’s office officials stated that they may not ever be able to determine whether the baby had been alive or how it died.

If the state can’t prove the baby was ever alive, it can’t charge anyone with murder in the case, William Stokes, head of the criminal division for the Attorney General’s Office, said in April.