Victim a former Cascade Middle School student

EUGENE, Ore. -- Fifteen-year-old Jeanette Maples had lived at the house on Howard Avenue with her biological mother and stepfather for the past few months along with a 12-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy, according the the Lane County Sheriff's Office.

Her biological father was not involved in her life.

Maples enrolled at Cascade Middle School in February 2006 after moving to the area from California. She attended the school through her 8th grade year. She would have attended Willamette High School but enrolled as a homeschool student with Lane Education Service District instead.

"There are a number of things we are trying to determine," Capt. Bill Thompson with the sheriff's office told KVAL News. "Certainly, whatever her living conditions were are going to be key in that investigation. But it's not something we have any solid information on yet. or it's not something we can comment on at this point."

Neighbors who talked to KVAL News recognized a photo of Angela McAnulty, Maples' biological mother. They did not recognize a photo of Richard McAnulty, Maples' stepfather.

A 911 caller reported Wednesday night that Maples was not breathing. Medics arrived around 8:04 p.m. and took her to Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend, where she was pronounced dead.

The sheriff's office arrested the McAnulty's on suspicion of aggravated murder. The district attorney filed documents Thursday alleging Maples' death was caused by torture, maiming, neglect and mistreatment.

A search of Lane County criminal records turned up nothing for Angela McAnulty. Richard McAnulty had a traffic violation and had been involved in civil suit.

The sheriff's office could not say whether the injuries to Maples were new or suffered over a period of time.

"Certainly, there were injuries that were obviously visible," Capt. Thompson said. "As far as dating them, being able to say what might have happened in the hours before her death, that's something that's going to be a medical determination."

Thompson said the case has had an impact on investigators.

"It's always more difficult when you have a victim that is, for lack of better phrasing, an innocent victim," he said. "These things are terrible and when there's children, there's youth involved, that makes it worse.

"It does tend to make investigators and folks around the case a little more serious, a little more somber," Thompson said.