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Left-Right: Latasha Mott, Corrice Parks (WSYR).
A woman charged with the murder of her 5-year-old daughter and concealing the child’s body in a wooded area of central New York had made some “suspicious” internet searches, which caught the attention of investigators, a detective involved in the investigation revealed.
Latasha Mott, 30, faces charges of murder and hiding a corpse in connection with the 2024 death of 5-year-old Nefertiti Harris. Reports suggest that Mott allegedly beat Nefertiti to death with a belt while she was showering on January 6, 2024, in Syracuse, afterward purportedly concealing her remains in a field.
Mott’s boyfriend, 28-year-old Corrice Parks, is charged with allegedly helping hide the little girl’s body.
According to local ABC station WSYR, family members reportedly took two months to realize the child was missing. Ultimately, her body was found on March 26, 2024.
More from Law&Crime: Family of pregnant 16-year-old found her body in woods with cellphone tracking app, 20-year-old father of baby charged with murder
At a hearing in Onondaga County Court on Wednesday, a detective testified that during the investigation into Nefertiti’s disappearance, a search of Mott’s phone yielded disturbing results.
“I believe it was ‘Why do killers hide kids’ bodies?’ and ‘Do bodies smell in the winter?”” said the detective, whose identity was not publicly revealed.
“It was suspicious and caused concern,” the detective added.
Mott’s defense lawyers have argued that the cellphone search results shouldn’t be admitted into evidence because, at the time, investigators may have thought they were interviewing a possible murder suspect without a lawyer, rather than a worried mother hoping to find her daughter.
The testifying detective said that when the searches were discovered, he still held the opinion that they would find Nefertiti alive and safe.
Online sheriff’s office records indicate that Mott’s next scheduled court appearance is April 5, when it’s expected Parks’ alleged comments to the police will be scrutinized.
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