The Region - News from July 15, 1985

A 10-year-old girl kidnaped from her Fontana home and found dead almost a week later died of suffocation and elevated body temperature inside a metal ice chest where she was imprisoned, the San Bernardino County coroner said. Melissa Wakefield probably died within three days after she was abducted from her bed, officials said. Her body was found in a shallow grave, still inside the ice chest. County Coroner Brian McCormick said the girl died because she was wrapped in a sleeping bag and stuffed in the ice chest, which was kept in a hot storage shed. Brian K. Smith, a 24-year-old auto parts deliveryman who lived near the girl’s home, has been booked on suspicion of murder, kidnap and child molestation in connection with the girl’s death.