Massachusetts police has identified the body of a mutilated 16-year-old teenager last week in Milton, Mass. The student, now recognized as Delvonte Tisdale, a North Mecklenburg High School student, and Jr. ROTC member, had been missing since last Sunday.
Finger-print analysis was used to identify Tisdale, who was reported missing by his father Anthony Tisdale. About 22 hours after the initial missing person’s report, a shirtless, shoeless body was discovered dumped in the middle of a secluded, affluent section of Milton.
The body damage was so severe, that an autopsy could not determine the cause of death according to Milton Deputy Officer Charles Paris. Authorieties found a handwritten note on the body. The note appears to be a month-old school hall pass with the name “Delvonte” which is almost illegible, “Tisdale” which is written clearly next to the words, “a lunch” followed by a scribbled signature, and the date “10/19/2010”.
In order to make a positive identification, Milton police flew to Charlotte to gather DNA samples from Tisdale’s home. The police also contacted and interviewed the owner of one of two suspicious vehicles, a white Audi A4. Details have not been released from the interview, but the car owner was labeled a witness, not a suspect.
Bracing for the worst, several members of Tisdale’s family had expressed their grief on Facebook. Tisdale sister, Erica Holloway wrote “Today is the WORST DAY of my life, I just found out my brother Delvonte Tisdale was found dead.”
Craig Tisdale, Delvonte’s half brother told reporters that Tisdale did not have a good relationship with his father, and is believed to have hitched a ride with two friends on their way to Boston, arranging to be dropped off in Baltimore.
“My best guess was that he was trying to come back to his family,” Craig Tisdale said. “The guys he got in the car with were supposed to be friends. I think he was expecting to be driven back to Baltimore.”