New details emerge in Ayla Reynolds case as father, grandmother speak out

By: Crimesider Staff
Topics: Daily Blotter ,; Missing

Ayla Reynolds

/ AP Photo/obtained from Facebook

(CBS/AP) WATERVILLE, Maine - The father of missing Maine toddler Ayla Reynolds says his daughter broke her arm in November when he accidentally slipped and fell on top of her. Justin DiPietro said he was carrying groceries in one arm and Ayla in the other when he fell.

Pictures: Maine toddler Ayla Reynolds missing

DiPietro said he is coming forth with details of the accident to end speculation on how his daughter broke her arm, as police continue to investigate her disappearance.

"There's value in explaining it," DiPietro told the Morning Sentinel of Waterville. "But to me, I know what the truth is, and it's unbelievable for people to make the accusations that they've made."

DiPietro reported his daughter missing from the home he shares with his mother in Waterville the morning of Dec. 17. Despite an intensive search and investigation, Ayla's whereabouts are still unknown.

Investigators say several adults were present in the DiPietro home the night of the 20-month-old's disappearance, including one non-family member, CNN reports.

Dipietro's mother, Phoebe DiPietro, told CNN that no family members who were there that night had anything to do with Ayla's disappearance.

"I feel violated. Somebody came into my home and took my granddaughter who was sleeping," Phoebe DiPietro said on Friday during her first television interview.

Justin DiPietro was taking care of Ayla while her mother, Trista Reynolds, was in a substance abuse rehabilitation program, which she completed.

Police said Ayla was last seen the night before her father reported her missing. She was wearing green one-piece pajamas with polka dots and the words "Daddy's Princess" on them, and she had a soft cast on her left arm.

Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey has said the girl broke her arm in an accidental fall, but the 24-year-old Justin DiPietro had not offered an explanation until now.

On a rainy night in November, DiPietro said, he walked into his home with a bag of groceries in one arm and Ayla in the other. He slipped while walking up a short set of stairs leading to the kitchen, he said.

"It happened so fast, I don't know exactly how I fell on her, but I fell on her," he told the Morning Sentinel. "It's burned into my brain."

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