Philadelphia prosecutors charged a 36 year old foster mother with murder on Thursday, a day after the body of a 10 year old girl in her care was found in the trunk of a car in Lindenwold, New Jersey.
Carprice Williams faces seven charges in the girl’s death, prosecutors announced at a news conference Thursday. The charges are murder, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal use of a communication facility, possession of an instrument of crime, recklessly endangering another person, tampering with evidence, and abuse of a corpse. The charges are only allegations, and Williams has not been convicted.
Williams was arraigned Thursday and ordered held without bail. She is due back in court November 23.
The girl was last seen alive on October 22 at her foster home on the 500 block of North Simpson Street in West Philadelphia, according to Assistant District Attorney Ashley Toczylowski. She was reported missing four days later, on October 26, setting off a search that involved Philadelphia police, the FBI, and the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office.
The break in the case came November 4, when investigators recovered surveillance video that showed what appeared to be a body being removed from the home in a bag at 1:53 a.m. on October 26. The video led police to a witness, and the witness led them to a car parked at the Stonington Court apartment complex in Lindenwold.
Investigators opened the trunk at about 11 p.m. Wednesday and found the girl’s body, still in the bag seen in the video. “It was immediately apparent that she had been there for a while,” Toczylowski said.
Prosecutors say the girl was placed in one car after she was removed from the home, then transferred to the car where her body was found. An autopsy by the Gloucester-Camden-Salem Counties Medical Examiner’s Office found the cause of death was blunt force trauma, and the death was ruled a homicide.
Toczylowski said investigators found signs the girl had been abused. “We do have an indication that there were instances of abuse happening, and that items were used to carry out that abuse,” she said.
The search drew in neighbors and volunteers as well as police. Flyers went up around the neighborhood, and neighbors placed pink balloons and teddy bears at a memorial. A small shrine also took shape outside the Lindenwold apartment complex, with balloons, a stuffed animal, and a bouquet of roses.
Mayor Cherelle Parker said in a statement that the girl’s death has shaken her. “As a mother, this has shaken me to the core,” Parker said. “I can’t stop thinking about this precious baby and the heartache and turmoil that her immediate village will endure.” Parker said authorities will keep investigating and seek justice.
City Council President Kenyatta Johnson said the city must take a hard look at the circumstances around the girl’s disappearance and the systems entrusted with her care.
Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel spoke at the news conference as well. “She deserved safety. She deserved to be loved. She deserved a chance to grow up,” he said.
District Attorney Larry Krasner said Williams does not have a criminal record. He said his office will be in touch with the Philadelphia Department of Human Services, the city’s child welfare agency, about the case. The department confirmed the girl was in its custody and receiving foster care services.
The investigation is still active, and prosecutors have not said how the car came to be in Lindenwold.
