I watched in disbelief as four burly officers from the Carroll County sheriff’s department took their seats behind the small, white casket covered with flowers, a toy rabbit perched on top.

It was the Saturday before Easter 1992. The open casket showed a pretty little girl wearing her pink Easter dress. Even with the heavy makeup that hid the autopsy sutures, you could see Amber had been a beautiful child. The Almon Funeral Home chapel was filled to overflowing, but there was no sign of the child’s mother. I assumed she was sitting in the private, screened section reserved for family members.

Charged with Amber’s murder, her mother, Tina Resch, now using her married name of Christina Boyer, had sat in jail for the past three days while the media vilified her.