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No suspects yet in slaying
By JANE MEINHARDT and BRYAN GILMER © St. Petersburg Times, published February 17, 1999 OLDSMAR -- More than a week after 27-year-old Cindy Riedweg was discovered stabbed to death in her Villas at Countryside apartment Feb. 9, no one has been charged with the killing. However, Kenny L. Dessaure, 21, of 1307 Amanda Lane, the neighbor who discovered the body, remained in Pinellas County Jail on Tuesday, held without bail on other charges: resisting arrest with violence and violation of probation. "We're awaiting lab results," before deciding how to proceed in the case, Deputy Calvin Dennie, a spokesman for the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, said Tuesday. Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Greg Tita last week called Dessaure a "person of interest" in the case, and he has said that investigators have "focused on a person of interest already in custody." But on Tuesday, he said Dessaure "never has been named a suspect. We're just not that far along in this thing." He said investigators would publicly name someone as a suspect only when they believe they soon will have enough evidence to charge that person with a crime. Riedweg, a nursing assistant at Harborside Healthcare-Tampa Bay in Oldsmar, was seen sunbathing outside her apartment about 90 minutes before her body was found inside her apartment, No. 1308. She had moved in just more than a week earlier. Within hours of Dessaure's arrest the night of Feb. 9, detectives seized some of his property from the jail. According to a property receipt, detectives took the clothing he was wearing when he was arrested: a pair of sneakers, a green and white pullover shirt, a pair of underwear and black shorts. Dennie would not elaborate on the nature of the lab tests, and he would not release any information from an autopsy conducted by the Pinellas County Medical Examiner's Office. According to court records, Assistant Public Defender Terry Staletovich has been appointed to represent Dessaure. Staletovich did not return calls to his office Tuesday. Dessaure's roommate, Tim Connole, 25, reiterated Tuesday that he does not believe Dessaure could have killed Riedweg. "I've known this guy for at least 10 years," he said. "I know what he's capable of and not capable of." Riedweg's friend Jo Ann Cambensy said she has heard no updates on the progress of the investigation from the Sheriff's Office. Riedweg's family held a small, private funeral Monday in Wisconsin, Cambensy said. Riedweg's mother, Nancy Riedweg, did not return telephone calls Tuesday. Cambensy said she is eager for detectives to locate her friend's killer and charge that person with the crime. She said of Dessaure: "If he's guilty, he's guilty, but if he's not they need to find who did it and get it over with. I just want them to catch whoever it was."
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