Tia's father Steven Carter spoke of his relief at finally being able to lay his "beautiful little girl" to rest. He said: "It has been a horrible, horrible long time.
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Mr Carter also claimed Tia's grandmother, Christine Sharp, has been cleared of any wrongdoing and was only arrested as a matter of routine because it was her New Addington home in which Tia's body was found.
He added: "Having known Christine for the years I did and knowing what I know now I'm satisfied she wouldn't have had any involvement or known anything about it."
The Advertiser also understands a structural engineer was sent to the house in The Lindens to check if the body could have been transferred between loft spaces.
Next-door neighbour Paul Meehan was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. Mr Carter said he was the witness who testified to seeing Tia leave her grandmother's home on the afternoon she was reported missing.
Tia's father also revealed he understood Mr Meehan was in the clear after testifying to the sighting "mistakenly". He said: "It was possible he had seen her on the Thursday [the day before] and mistaken it for the Friday."
