Authorities have accused an Alabama woman and her father of abusing her 1-year-old son before his disappearance and presumed death last year.
A March 19 grand jury indictment accused Wendy Bailey, 22, and her father, John Bailey, 50, of tying up her son, Kahleb Collins, with items like zip ties on two occasions. The indictment also cites at least one instance in which Collins was hung from a ceiling, according to WVUA.
John and Wendy Bailey were also accused of striking Collins before his September 2024 disappearance, WBRC reported.
Collins remains unaccounted for months after a December 8 crash that killed his father and older sister. Wendy Bailey, who was a passenger, was seriously injured in the wreck. She is charged with criminally negligent homicide for failing to have her daughter restrained in a car seat before Collins’ father veered off the road at 90mph and struck a tree.
Police believe Collins is dead, but he was not in the December 8 crash. Days after the crash, John Bailey was charged with failing to report Collins’ disappearance.
Authorities wrote that, on at least two instances, Wendy Bailey witnessed her son “being bound with rope, physically assaulted, and being bound by a rope from a loft with blood and bruising present.”
Kahleb Collins’ father allegedly sent Wendy Bailey photos showing their son hanging by a rope and bloody. The father reportedly wrote that he wanted to kill the toddler and he was not moving. He later texted Wendy Bailey that their son was moving.
Though John Bailey was initially only charged with failing to report Collins’ disappearance, he is now facing the same charges as his daughter: aggravated child abuse, abuse of a corpse, and first-degree domestic violence. He is also charged with hindering prosecution.
Hearings for the pair were postponed in April, which Fayette County District Attorney Andrew Hamlin told WBRC was due to the breadth of documents and evidence in this case.
Wendy and John Bailey remain jailed on $1.8 million bond each. Their arraignments are scheduled for August 7.
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[Feature Photo: Alabama Law Enforcement Agency]