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December 3, 2009

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Trial for 23-year-old murder may finally take place

Monday, June 19, 2000 | 4:39 a.m.

Neither side commented on the reason for the delay on Monday.

Stephen Robert Smith, 57, of Sparks is being held without bail after DNA testing linked him to the 1977 death of Lisa Marie Bonham of Martinez, Calif.

The 6-year-old was snatched from a small Reno amusement park just a year after Smith was paroled from a life sentence for child molestation.

Forensic investigators said they matched Smith's DNA to semen on Lisa's shirt and sock.

The young girl was visiting relatives in Reno when she was abducted from Idlewild Park after getting a dollar from her mother to ride the park's roller coaster.

Her clothing was found in a trash can along Interstate 80 west of Reno. Hikers found her remains about two months later in the mountains west of Reno.

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