PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia police are trying to find the body of a 4-year-old boy. His mother initially told family members that he was fatally struck by a car, but now, she and her boyfriend are facing murder charges.
According to the Philadelphia Police Department, its Special Victims Unit began investigating on Dec. 30 after getting reports of a missing child, Damari Carter, in West Philadelphia.
Police said a media outlet asked them about the boy’s disappearance at the end of December, but that was the first they had heard of it. They said they found out that the mother, 28-year-old Dominique Bailey, told family members her son was hit by a car and died.
The investigation found no evidence to support her story.
Investigators on Thursday questioned Bailey and, on Friday, served a search warrant at an address in West Philly's Mantua neighborhood, where they took her boyfriend, 30-year-old Kevin Spencer, into custody.
Police say, after the search, Bailey explained the child's death.
“[What] hurt my heart is when I tried to get in touch with him on his birthday,” the boy’s father, Darryle Carter, told NBC10. Damari’s birthday is in late November, and his father said he hadn’t heard from him or his mother since. He said his relationship with Bailey ended last year, and she left Texas and returned to West Philly with Damari.
Bailey and Spencer have been charged with murder, abuse of a corpse and related offenses. Police say the child's body has not been recovered, and their investigation is ongoing.
Other family members, like the boy’s cousin, Aiyana Parrish, told NBC10 that they are still very uneasy.
“Until we find Damari and put him to rest, everybody is on high alert,” she said. “Our bodies just cannot wind down.”