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Guilty verdict in Ryno assault trialBrett Bednarek also faces murder charges in connection with her death06/18/2003By ROBERT THARP / The Dallas Morning News Dallas County jurors have convicted Brett Bednarek in the sexual assault of a 3-year-old Irving girl who went missing in April 1999. Cristy Ryno's body was found days after she disappeared from an Irving apartment complex where she lived. Jurors are now hearing testimony in the punishment phase of the trial. Mr. Bednarek, 27, faces up to life in prison. Brett Bednarek In closing arguments Wednesday morning, prosecutors stressed that DNA recovered from semen found inside Cristy's...

Mother of slain girl takes stand06/16/2003Associated Press The mother of a slain three-year-old Irving girl today testified she barely knows the suspect, who's a friend of a friend. Leticia Ryno took the stand in the Dallas sexual assault trial of 27-year-old Brett Bednarek. He's also accused of killing Cristy Ryno, but is currently on trial only for the sexual attack. WFAA-TVLeticia Ryno, mother of slain toddler Cristy Ryno, wipes her eyes during her testimony. Cristy Ryno disappeared in April of 1999. Her body later turned up in the Trinity River. Cristy's twin sister was in the family's Irving apartment...

Man Charged With Killing Toddler Pleads Not Guilty To Sexual Assault Bednarek Shows No Emotion In Court POSTED: 8:29 a.m. CDT June 9, 2003 UPDATED: 2:49 p.m. CDT June 10, 2003 DALLAS, Texas -- A 27-year-old man charged with kidnapping, raping and murdering a 3-year-old twin whose body was found floating in the Trinity River after an extensive search in 1999 pleaded not guilty to sexual assault on the first day of the trial Tuesday. Brett Bednarek, who was an acquaintance of the toddler's family, showed no emotion as he appeared in court wearing shackles and a dark suit....

Police: Sexual assault evident in Ryno case DNA led to arrest of handyman in death of Irving 3-year-old 07/24/2002 By JENNIFER EMILY / The Dallas Morning News An Irving police detective testified Tuesday that investigators linked an apartment handyman to the slaying of 3-year-old Cristy Ryno through an examination that determined she was sexually assaulted. Detectives had previously declined to detail what evidence contained the DNA that ultimately led to the arrest of Brett Jonathan Bednarek. The child's naked body was found by two fishermen in the Elm Fork of the Trinity River four days after her disappearance on...

Ryno's family tries to find peace, comfort 'I remember her and love her. She is my best sister.' 07/13/2002 By ROBERT THARP and DEBRA DENNIS / The Dallas Morning News Detectives searching for the killer who abducted 3-year-old Cristy Ryno from an Irving apartment and dumped her body in a creek bed had little to show for the three years that passed while the case went unsolved, police officials acknowledged Friday. No real suspects had ever emerged, while their time had been absorbed with other major cases, such as the slaying of an Irving officer during a Christmas Eve...