NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The family of slain Bronx boy Montrell Williams said Monday that the NYPD “dropped the ball” in the case and that they are planning potential legal action against the department after the boy was found dead in the East River a month after he went missing.
Joining the boy’s grieving grandmother outside the 40th precinct stationhouse on Monday, Rev. Kevin McCall said the NYPD “did nothing” when the child's mom and grandmother called cops after Arius Williams, 20, failed to return his son on Mother’s Day, May 11.
The family said police refused to label the case as a disappearance because the boy was with his father, who had visitation rights but also a history of arrests.
“She called 911 for them to do something, and they refer her to family court,” McCall said. “When they know he has a history of being arrested multiple times for different crimes and being arrested for domestic violence.”
The boy’s 17-year-old mother—who was too distraught to attend the press conference—will graduate from high school next week without her baby.
Prosecutors have said Arius Williams threw his son alive into the Bronx River on May 10 and then boasted about it at knifepoint to the boy’s mother on June 8, when she saw him and asked where her child was.
After that alleged confrontation, the NYPD put out a missing bulletin with the boy’s photo on June 9, and Arius Williams was taken into custody on a charge of custodial interference.
He now faces murder and manslaughter charges in his son’s death.
“I just want to get justice for my grandson,” Montrell's grandmother said. “Everybody loved him, and everybody’s just heartbroken.”
In a statement, the NYPD said: “The murder of Montrell Williams is an absolute tragedy, and the NYPD extends our deepest condolences to his family. Our detectives are always committed to conducting complete and thorough investigations, and the arrest of Arius Williams is the first step in the pursuit of justice for Montrell's death.”
Mayor Eric Adams has said the police response is under review.