A woman who declined to give her name prays at a makeshift memorial in front of a trash bin at The Fountains of Villa Cordova apartments, 2800 S. Eastern Ave. A girl's body was found in the trash bin Jan. 12, and police were still trying to identify her Wednesday night. Photo by K.M. Cannon. The image above is a manipulated photo of a girl found dead in a trash bin. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Clark County Coroner Michael Murphy is interviewed Wednesday by a camera crew from the television show "America's Most Wanted." The show is profiling the case involving a young girl found dead last week in an apartment complex trash bin. Photo by K.M. Cannon.

The unidentified child whose dead body was found discarded in an apartment complex trash bin was beaten prior to her death, according to a correspondent for "America's Most Wanted" and an official familiar with the case.

Officials with the Clark County coroner's office have declined to reveal the official cause of death for the girl, whom authorities have dubbed Jane "Cordova" Doe after the apartment complex where her body was found. Las Vegas police have tentatively scheduled a news conference for today to discuss the matter.

"It's a child abuse murder," said Ed Miller, a correspondent for the television show "America's Most Wanted" who met Wednesday with local authorities and officials from the coroner's office.

Miller said he was "almost positive" that the child, who police believe was about 3 years old and Hispanic, had not been sexually abused.

A Las Vegas police source who asked not to be identified confirmed that the child had been beaten and showed evidence of prior abuse.

The brown-eyed girl was found in the trash bin Jan. 12, sparking a local media blitz and a nationwide alert that have failed to solve the mystery of her identity. "America's Most Wanted" plans to show the girl's portrait and give details of her slaying in a program scheduled to run Saturday evening.

Miller said he is confident that someone will lead police to the person behind the killing.

"Police are saying ... the fact that no one has come forward yet is that they may be afraid, either because of their immigration status or violence in the family," Miller said. "But (they) won't keep the secret forever. Somebody will slip ... or anonymously make the call. That's one of the great things about 'America's Most Wanted' and one of the reasons we get so many tips."

"America's Most Wanted" has posted information about the girl on its Web site. The case will also be featured on radio stations nationwide as part of the program's weekly radio show, Miller said.

The television show reaches an estimated 8 million to 10 million viewers, and its broadcasts have helped in the capture of 874 fugitives, according to spokeswoman Kim Newport. The program also runs in Spanish, she said.

"Any crime against a child gets special attention with 'America's Most Wanted,'" Miller said. "(It's) at the top of the list."

One clue to the girl's identity could hinge on the distinctive white jacket dotted with hearts that she was wearing. Police have also said the girl appears to have been well-fed and cared for, though no one has reported her missing.

"There's the fact that this child was left in pristine condition, which means most likely there is, or was, somebody there that did care for her," said Miller, who has previously reported on high-profile Las Vegas cases.

"I don't think the killer washed her hair and put dainty, clean white socks (on her)," he said. "Most likely there is a mother involved who tried to give her proper treatment until the end, to the extent that she could."

The crew from "America's Most Wanted" filmed Wednesday at The Fountains at Villa Cordova apartments on Eastern Avenue, near Sahara Avenue, where the child was discovered by people searching trash bins for recyclables. The day after her body was found, a small army of volunteers, with sketches of the girl in hand, embarked on a door-to-door campaign for answers.

"If we don't get a tip by Sunday that leads to her identification, we'll probably send a larger crew out here again and do another segment on it," Miller said.

Miller said a case in Nashville, Tenn., covered by the program was similar to the Jane "Cordova" Doe case. The child in the Nashville case was being abused but also cared for, apparently by her mother.

"The father had been scalding the child, boiling the child, but someone also was caring for that child, putting gauze wrappings on her," Miller said. "Then she was left in a park, at a baseball diamond."

"America's Most Wanted" was instrumental in capturing the man wanted in that slaying, Miller said. The man was the first child abuse homicide suspect ever on the FBI's Most Wanted list, he said.