By Lateef Mungin and Calandra Corder
(CNN) — Her ankles bound, her mouth covered with duct tape, Christina Anderson was bashed at least 12 times in the head. Her 8-year-old son Ethan’s body was burned beyond recognition.
Those were some of the grisly details released this week by the San Diego Medical Examiner’s office investigating the deaths connected to the Hannah Anderson kidnapping case, a case that captured the nation’s interest last month.
In August, Christina Anderson, 42, and Ethan were killed by family friend James Lee DiMaggio, who then set fire to his house and kidnapped 16-year-old Hannah, authorities said. This led to a multi-state manhunt that ended with the FBI shooting DiMaggio, 40, in the Idaho woods and Hannah’s rescue.
Few details had been released about the deaths of Christina and Ethan Anderson. But the autopsy reports obtained by CNN give shocking details.
Christina Anderson’s ankles were bound by a plastic cable tie, and duct tape was wrapped around her neck and mouth, her autopsy report said. Her right arm and both legs were fractured, and there was a cut on her neck. Her body was found in the garage of the burning home, alongside a family dog that had been shot.
Ethan was found in another part of the home, burned beyond recognition. It was believed, according to the autopsy, that the boy died because of the fire. Ethan also had skeletal fractures that could have been caused by events that day.
San Diego County deputies searching DiMaggio’s charred home found a handwritten note, handcuff box, camping equipment, a DNA swab kit, two used condoms and letters from Hannah, according to an affidavit.
Contents of the letters and the handwritten note were not revealed in the affidavit.
In an interview since the ordeal, Hannah called herself a survivor.
“In the beginning I was a victim, but now knowing everyone out there is helping me, I consider myself a survivor instead,” she told NBC News. “My mom raised me to be strong.”
CNN’s Traci Tamura contributed to this report.
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