Remains believed to belong to an Alabama toddler who disappeared last year were found in a burn pile at the home of his family.
Kahleb Collins’ mother, Wendy Pamela Bailey, and her father, Johnn Elton Bailey, have been charged with criminally negligent homicide, in addition to charges from a grand jury indictment in March, according to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office.
Those initial charges are domestic violence, abuse of a corpse, and aggravated child abuse. Additionally, John Bailey was charged with hindering prosecution and failing to report 1-year-old Kahleb’s disappearance.
The search for the boy began after a fatal car crash on December 8 that killed his father, Steven Collins, and 2-year-old sister Ryleigh when the father, travelling 90 mph, veered off the road and slammed into a tree, as CrimeOnline reported. Wendy Bailey was a passenger in the car and was seriously injured. She was charged wtih criminally negligent homicide related to the crash for failing to have her daughter restrained in a car seat.
Collins was not in the car, and his whereabouts were unknown. Investigators eventually learned that the child hadn’t been seen since September, and police said they believed he was dead.
Days after the crash, John Bailey, Kahleb’s legal custodian, was charged with failing to report the boy’s disappearance, and earlier this year, Wendy Bailey was charged with failing to report Kahleb’s father’s abuse of the child in July.
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.” The 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.
The abuse of a corpse charges stemmed from police belief that the boy’s body was put in a bag and stashed in a storage building then later discarded at what was then an unknown location.
The remains were found in a burn pile on property belonging to Wendy Bailey where investigators had searched several times. The sheriff’s office did not say when the remains were found.
“With the assistance of an anthropologist, it was confirmed that a portion of the items recovered were human remains,” Sheriff Byron Yerby said. “The evidence was sent to forensics for official identification.”
“This is a heartbreaking outcome, and our thoughts and prayers are with all those who loved Kahleb,” the sheriff said. “While this discovery brings a measure of closure, it is a solemn reminder of the responsibility we all share in protecting our children.”
No further information was made available.
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[Featured image: Kahleb Collins/: Alabama Law Enforcement Agency]