ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The body of a 16-year-old St. Petersburg boy was found floating in a lake surrounded by gators on July 4.
Two months later, a medical examiner's report says the cause of death is still undetermined.
The family of Jarvis Deliford believes the teen was murdered and dumped in Lake Maggiore with the hope his body would never be found. St. Petersburg police said there were no obvious signs of foul play found on Deliford's body.
"I know he didn't jump in this lake," family friend Gregory Calhoun said in July. "In my heart, I feel something bad happened to him, and we want to know what happened."
The medical examiner's report, obtained Friday by 10News, found severe decomposition and alligator activity on Deliford's feet and upper extremities.
The report's narrative said the forensics investigator arrived at Lake Maggiore around 12:40 p.m. July 4 and found Deliford's body floating near a boat ramp.
Police said witnesses saw several alligators around a body in the lake earlier that morning. When officers arrived, they placed a rope around the body to bring it closer to shore near the boat ramp.
Investigators said there was no clothing nor any valuables on Deliford.
That evening, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said an alligator caught at Lake Maggiore was found to have human remains in its system.
St. Petersburg police continue to investigate what happened to Deliford.
Police said Deliford was arrested in June on burglary charges and released from a juvenile detention facility on June 29. He was wearing an ankle monitor but reportedly cut it off.
Deliford was reported missing that night. It's still not known how he ended up in the lake.
Family and friends gathered at Lake Maggiore on July 7 to remember Deliford. They are also still demanding justice for a death they do not believe was accidental.
"Jarvis did a lot of wrong but Jarvis did not deserve that," his older sister Laporsha Smalls said previously. "And I just hope we find justice for Jarvis. And it's not no hope; I am going to have faith in God."
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