Last updated at 9:31 p.m.
NEWARK, Del. (KYW Newsradio) — Maryland State Police have arrested a Cecil County woman in connection with the disappearance and presumed homicide of her 3-year-old daughter.
Darrian Randle, 31, is charged with murder, child abuse resulting in the death of a minor under 13, and other related offenses. Officials said Randle told police in Newark, Delaware, on Tuesday night that a man kidnapped her daughter, Nola Dinkins, at gunpoint.
The child's disappearance triggered an Amber Alert in New Castle County. The alert was canceled when authorities determined Randle fabricated the story, prompting them to declare the case a homicide investigation.
The search for Nola expanded to Perryville Community Park in Cecil County, Maryland, on Wednesday afternoon, where a body was found around 1:45 p.m.
"The Maryland State Police Homicide Unit located what appears to be human remains consistent of that of a child," said Maryland State Police spokesperson Elena Russo. "At this point, positive identification of those remains has not been made. We are waiting on autopsy results from the office of the chief medical examiner."
Randle initially told police that she pulled over to the side of the 500 block of Gender Road in Newark around 7:15 p.m. because her daughter was upset.
She told police that she got out of the car to comfort the toddler, but that's when a man approached them at gunpoint and took Nola, fleeing in a dark-colored SUV with a female driver.
However, at a police briefing Wednesday morning, authorities said Randle made up the story. She was arrested and initially charged with making a false kidnapping claim.
Authorities also arrested Randle's presumed boyfriend, Cedrick Antoine Britten, 44. He faces accessory to murder and failure to report child death charges.
Court documents obtained by KYW Newsradio from Cecil County, Maryland, revealed that Randle admitted to beating her daughter with a belt 15 to 20 times on Monday, after which she told investigators the girl laid motionless on the ground and was not breathing.
Randle then said she called Britten, who initially put Dinkins' body in his BMW and drove around before returning to Randle's home, court documents read. They then stuffed her body into a blue suitcase and left it on the basement steps for the night, according to court documents.
Finally, court documents say, Randle asked Britten to get rid of the body, and he drove the suitcase to Perryville Community Park and buried it in a shallow grave. Investigators say Britten drew them a map of the park with an approximate location of where he buried the body, and they later found the remains on Wednesday.
Police said Randle lives in both Newark, Delaware, and Cecil County, Maryland. Britten lives in North East, Maryland.