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Mesiti charged in daughter's murder
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Ceres police detectives transferred Mark Mesiti from a state prison in Delano to Modesto Thursday where he will stand trial for the murder of his daughter, Alycia Augusta Mesiti, 14.

Mesiti has been charged with sexually molesting Alycia, and killing her in 2006. Police found her body in the backyard of at 3576 Alexis Avenue in Ceres where she was living at the time of her murder. Police said a cause of death has been determined but would not elaborate on aspects of the case. The Courier learned that police had checked out a large carpet stain in one of the bedrooms that someone made a labored attempt to cleanse.

Mesiti, 43, has been behind bars since March 28, 2009. His arrest came three days after his daughter's body was discovered. Mesiti moved from Ceres about six months after Alycia was reported missing but police traced him to a Los Angeles apartment which police say was used as a meth lab.

Alycia had been reported missing two days after her alleged Aug. 13, 2006 disappearance. Mark Mesiti told police that Alycia traveled to the San Jose area on August 11, 2006, to spend the weekend with a friend and that she telephoned on August 13, reporting that she had instead gone camping with other friends but would not disclose her location nor who she was with. Police say Mr. Mesiti claimed to receive periodic calls from Alycia who assured her things were okay.

Ceres Deputy Police Chief Mike Borges stated earlier that the case against Mesiti is "very strong."

After the body was discovered, Ceres detectives tracked down Mesiti to Los Angeles and obtained a warrant to search the apartment he was sharing with Mesiti's former girlfriend, Shelly Welborn. Authorities said they found evidence of a drug lab at Welborn's apartment in the 2100 block of Bentley Avenue in Los Angeles. Mesiti was charged, Welborn was not.

Authorities say Mark Mesiti drugged Alycia between April 1 and Sept. 30, 2005 so that he could commit lewd and sexual acts with her.

Police previously stated that Alycia had been molested by a friend of the family previous to her disappearance. Detectives interviewed Gregory Joseph Ulrich of Modesto who served time in jail for also molesting Alycia. Ulrich, who is known by Mark Mesiti, served a year in jail after being convicted of the molestation. He reportedly had been released three days prior to Alycia's disappearance.

Mesiti's criminal record includes domestic violence against Alycia's mother, Roberta Allen, drunk driving and bank fraud. Despite his record, in November 2005 he was awarded custody of Alycia. The girl reportedly did not get along with her mother, Roberta Allen, who has a history of mental depression and attempted suicide. Court officials expressed concerns about Alycia's handling and turned her over to her father.

In 2005 Mark Mesiti moved to Alexis Avenue - a newer neighborhood west of Morgan Road and just blocks from Sinclear Elementary - in 2005 from the Bay Area. Alycia had been enrolled by her father to attend Central Valley High School on Sept. 15, 2005, but never attended, said officials with the Ceres Unified School District. On Oct. 6, 2005 CUSD received a request for her records to be sent to Harbor High School in Santa Cruz.