PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Police say the severely decomposed body of a child was found inside a duffel bag Monday morning in the city’s Mantua neighborhood.
Sanitation workers were in the back of a home on 38th Street near Haverford Avenue around 9:30 a.m., when they saw a black bag.
“They opened up the bag and found what looks to be the remains of a child between 2 and 4 years old,” said Inspector Kpana Massaquoi.
They immediately contacted police, he said, and the medical examiner came out to the scene. The remains were decomposed.
“Officers verified there was a juvenile inside that bag, and we continue to hold the scene until the [medical examiner’s] office and the crime scene unit comes out,” said Massaquoi.
Police have not released the gender of the child. Investigators are trying to determine if the child was 4-year-old Damari Carter, who has been missing since December.
“After we determine the identity of the juvenile we can put a case together if it is connected,” said Massaquoi.
Carter’s mother, Dominique Bailey, told family members the boy was struck and killed by a car. The family doubted her story, and they went to the police, who investigated and found no evidence of such a crash.
They have been searching for the boy ever since, including in Mantua.
Bailey and her boyfriend, Kevin Spencer, in January were charged with the boy’s murder, as well as abuse of corpse and related offenses. They remain behind bars, awaiting a preliminary hearing set for April.
This information is preliminary and potentially subject to change. Stay with KYW Newsradio for more on this breaking story.