It's been months since little Coralrose Fullwood's father last seen his daughter alive. Dale Fullwood had checked on her when he came home at 2:30 a.m. on Sept. 17. When the family awoke around 7 a.m., Coralrose and her blanket were gone. In the moments and days that followed, a real life nightmare unfolded for her family.
Around noon on Sept 17, a man who had been out walking his dog stumbled upon Coralrose's body, off in a wooded lot behind a house that was under construction. Although months have passed since her murder, no arrests have been made in the case, although one unrelated arrest was made.
Coralrose's parents lost custody of their surviving children, after child services found their home to be in acceptable conditions for the children to continue living there. Her parents separated, and her dad faces a trial for the child porn in July.
Her mother, faced with the murder of her child, and the arrest of the man she had shared a life with, has become a woman with a mission:
Around noon on Sept 17, a man who had been out walking his dog stumbled upon Coralrose's body, off in a wooded lot behind a house that was under construction. Although months have passed since her murder, no arrests have been made in the case, although one unrelated arrest was made.
Coralrose had shared the home with four of her six siblings and her parents, Dale and Ellen-Beth Fullwood. They moved there two months before her death from Cape Coral.
While the investigation continued, Florida Department of Children & Families officials showed up at the Fort Myers home of Coralrose’s grandparents, where her family had gathered. They had with them a warrant and a Lee County Sheriff’s deputy and demanded the slain girl's siblings be turned over for questioning and to remain in the DCF's custody due to the children being in imminent danger.
During a hearing the next day, DCF abuse workers claimed the Fullwood’s home in North Port was filthy, littered with feces and infested with cockroaches.
The grandparents, Saul and Doreen Vanderwoude, who live in south Fort Myers, were granted custody of the children.
On Oct. 12, Fullwood was arrested on two counts of possession of child pornography. Police allegedly found videos on his computer at his North Port home. The State Attorney’s Office officially charged him on Oct. 30.
Coralrose's parents lost custody of their surviving children, after child services found their home to be in acceptable conditions for the children to continue living there. Her parents separated, and her dad faces a trial for the child porn in July.
Her mother, faced with the murder of her child, and the arrest of the man she had shared a life with, has become a woman with a mission:
NBC2- The mother of a sexually assaulted and murdered girl from North Port met with state lawmakers to change the laws on child pornography - making it easier to get convictions. NBC2 obtained an exclusive interview with her.It's hard to imagine what this woman has went through over the last months, but like so many who have faced the pain of losing a child, she has been impassioned, with a desire to see to it that something good can grow out of the torment she has suffered through.
Six-year-old Coralrose Fullwood was found dead just blocks from her home last September. DNA evidence showed that she was sexually assaulted before her killing. But it took months to discover.
"New York City has a mobile crime unit. It takes eight hours to run DNA. Whenever there's a major murder scene, boom the van goes. Why doesn't Florida have one of these? asked Coralrose's mother Ellen Fullwood.
Fullwood marched up to the capitol steps in Tallahassee and demanded answers.
Coralrose's Story: