Police Identifies Girl Stuffed In Suitcase

For months, Australian police have been working to identify the body of a girl found discarded near a suitcase on the side of highway -- now they know who she is.

DNA analysis showed that the remains are that of two-year-old Khandalyce Kiara Pearce, South Australia Police (SAPOL) said in a press conference Wednesday.

They also revealed that a body found dumped in Belanglo State Forest in the state of New South Wales in 2010 belonged to the girl's mother, 20-year-old Karlie Jade Pearce-Stevenson.

"You should think of this investigation as being at the start as opposed to the end," SAPOL's head of Major Crime, Detective Superintendent Des Bray said.

The investigation started in July when the child's body was found by a passerby alongside the Karoonda highway in South Australia.

Near the body was a faded, greying black suitcase, a quilt, and items of children's clothing, including a black party dress and a Dora the Explorer T-shirt. At one point the child had been stuffed inside the suitcase, police said.

Officers issued a public call for information to identify the child, but it wasn't until earlier this month that a phone call to a crime hotline suggested that it may be Khandalyce. DNA testing confirmed her identity.

Forensic testing also led police to identify her mother, who had also suffered a violent death, they said.