A memorial in the US for murdered disabled Australian schoolgirl Zahra Baker has been desecrated with dead fish.
Outraged locals in Hudson, North Carolina, found 20 rotting fish dumped at the site that is usually adorned with fluffy teddy bears and other child gifts to honour the 10-year-old.
The Caldwell Journal reported on Sunday a truckload of sand had to be tipped on the area to quell the "unbearable and sickening" smell.
It is not the first time the site has been damaged, with vandals and thieves targeting the memorial.
Wagga Wagga-born Zahra had a short and tragic life.
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Ravaged by bone cancer at the age of five, she had a leg amputated, wore a prosthetic limb and lost most of her hearing to the disease.
Her father, Adam Baker, met North Carolina woman Elisa on the internet and moved to the US, but in 2010 Zahra went missing.
Zahra's dismembered body was found in North Carolina bushland and Elisa Baker, who entered a guilty plea to murder in a deal with prosecutors, is serving a 15- to 18-year jail sentence.
