PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The man centered around last week’s Amber Alert of a two-year-old has been charged with murdering the toddler’s mother and grandmother.
Prosecutors say 27-year-old Byron McDonald murdered Tamara Aikens and her daughter Morgan Braxton, the mother of the missing toddler.
Officials say on April 9th, McDonald drove to Aikens’ home along Bancroft Street in North Philadelphia and shot her several times through his car window, killing the 50-year-old.
Two days later, loved ones filed a missing persons report for Aikens’ daughter.
Prosecutors say that when police did a wellness check on the toddler’s mother on April 12th, they discovered the 25-year-old shot several times through the head.
At that point, officials issued an Amber Alert for the two-year-old. He was found hours later at the Aloft Hotel by Philadelphia International Airport.
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Inside the hotel room, investigators say they found a considerable amount of marijuana. Prosecutors initially charged McDonald with drugs and endangering the welfare of a child.
While in custody, investigators pulled cell phone records, surveillance video and ballistics linking McDonald with both killings, according to prosecutors.
McDonald had been out on probation for another case involving a shooting, though law enforcement sources say he is not the one who fired the weapon. He has a court hearing scheduled for next week.