Why was Jozlynn's body never found?

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - It is a murder trial without a body and on Wednesday, jurors charged with determining whether Jeffrey Malmberg murdered 2-year-old Jozlynn Martinez heard an explanation of why the girl's remains have not been found.

Investigators have said Malmberg's admission that he put the girl's body in a northwest Grand Rapids Dumpster led them to the garbage truck that would have hauled it to the Kent County Waste-to-Energy Facility.

And workers there were able to track down video footage of the load arriving, according to testimony from William Allen, the director of the county's Waste-to-Energy Division.

Allen led jurors through surveillance of the truck, from when it entered the facility to the moment before the trash it was carrying was set to move to the incinerator. Much of it was burned before investigators knew to look at the facility, Becker said he estimated, based on surveillance showing where the trash was taken.

And after a follow-up question from the prosecutor, the Waste-to-Energy division director told the court several other areas of the facility were searched in case part of the load didn't end up in the incinerator.

Jozlynn's body was not found.

A trailer may have left the facility for a landfill before the incinerator was stopped as the search began, Allen testified. The South Kent Landfill was searched following Jozlynn's disappearance.

In earlier testimony Wednesday, the jury heard, for the first time, Malmberg say in his own words that he knew something about how the 2-year-old died.

It came from a police interview, recorded a day after the 40-year-old defendant was arrested following an Amber Alert for Malmberg and Jozlynn.

Malmberg told investigators Jozlynn fell down the steps and "wasn't breathing." And he told police he put her in a bag and put the bag in a Dumpster.

Investigators and prosecutors have said Malmberg later admitted to kneeling on the girl's chest after she threw a tantrum. And on Tuesday, Malmberg's attorney, Jeffrey Kirchhoff told the jury he doesn't dispute that his client killed the girl.

But Kirchhoff said his client says Jozlynn's death was an accident. Malmberg never intended to harm her, the attorney said. Jurors will have to decide whether Malmberg knew what he was doing could seriously hurt Jozlynn.

Jurors also saw surveillance footage Wednesday of Malmberg at a truck stop the day after the alleged murder. A store clerk testified that Malmberg's purchase of a hat, T-shirt and sweatshirt the day after the alleged killing seemed odd. Kirchhoff suggested the clerk's memory of Malmberg was jogged by police questions about him, not about the purchase itself.

The 40-year-old visited the truck stop before taking a cab to Lansing. An acquaintance said he and others in Lansing identified Malmberg from the Amber Alert, leading to a call to police and Malmberg's arrest.