Australian girl Zahra Baker was dismembered and her remains scattered at different sites, according to court papers filed by lawyers representing her American stepmother.
The court documents ask for a reduction in bail for Elisa Baker, saying she helped investigators by leading them to the remains of 10-year-old Zahra.
Elisa Baker has been jailed since last month, accused of trying to throw off investigators by writing a fake ransom note for another child.
The court papers were reported by Charlotte-area TV stations and posted on the website of WCNC-TV on Monday.
Elisa Baker told police on October 24 that Zahra "was deceased, that her body had been dismembered and that it would be recovered at different sites", according to the documents.
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She was allowed to accompany police the following two days to sites around Hickory, in western North Carolina, showing them where Zahra's remains were.
On Friday, police said they found a bone that matched DNA from Zahra, and believed other remains were about eight kilometres away.
They have not said, and the court documents don't explain, how the girl died.
Zahra was reported missing by her Australian father, Adam Baker, on October 9, but police believe she may have met with foul play earlier than that.
Adam and Elisa Baker remain suspects in Zahra's disappearance, although neither have been charged.
Adam Baker was arrested on a host of charges unrelated to the girl's disappearance, but is free on bail.
