Body Of Missing 4-Year-Old Kentucky Boy Found In Garbage Truck

Monday, July 9th 2007, 7:45 pm

By: News On 6

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) _ The body of a 4-year-old boy who disappeared outside his home near Churchill Downs was found in a garbage truck over the weekend, and authorities said Monday that they believe he was slain.

Trash workers discovered the body of Cezar ``Ivan'' Aguilar-Cano in the same neighborhood where he was last seen playing outside his apartment building on June 29 near the home of the Kentucky Derby.

The trash cans in the area were searched repeatedly in the days after he disappeared. They were last searched Thursday night and Friday morning, said Lt. Col. Tim Emington of the Louisville Metro Police Department.

``We do not believe the body was in any of the garbage cans during any of our previous searches,'' Emington said.

The body was identified Monday morning through dental records, Jefferson County Coroner Ron Holmes said. He would not describe the condition of Cezar's body, including whether it was clothed, or how the boy died. He did say the case was a homicide.

Police had received more than 100 tips, and authorities, friends and neighbors organized extensive searches for the child. A Louisville-based advocacy group for missing children, the Exploited Children's Help Organization, asked volunteers to take thousands of fliers door to door within a mile of the boy's home to dig up leads.

Since Cezar's body was found in a trash bag Saturday, officers have sorted through mountains of trash that surrounded it, such as mail and household items, Emington said. He would not say what, if anything, was in the bag with the body.

There were no suspects and Cezar's family was ``not the focus of the investigation right now,'' Emington said.

Neighbors told police that Cesar was a curious boy who would sometimes run around the complex unsupervised. It wasn't uncommon for the boy to go inside open apartment doors, they said.

No arrests had been made Monday, authorities said.

Christopher 2X, a spokesman for the boy's family, said Cezar's parents were angry with whoever killed their son.

``They can't express what they are going through,'' 2X said. ``The one thing they know for sure is their son was totally disrespected as a human being, being dumped in the trash.''