A Philadelphia woman is facing a murder charge after the remains of her 10-year-old foster daughter were discovered in the trunk of a car.
Carprice Williams was arrested Nov. 5 in connection with the death of Malayshia Alford, whose disappearance prompted a 10-day search.
The 36-year-old teacher is also accused of six additional offenses, including endangering the welfare of a child, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence, according to court records reviewed by Oxygen. It was not immediately clear whether Williams had entered a plea, and her attorney did not respond right away to a request for comment.
“No one lost sight of who this investigation was about,” Wayne Jacobs, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office, said at a Nov. 5 press conference. “A 10-year-old girl whose life mattered, whose family deserved answers, and whose story deserved to be told.”
Alford was a quiet, intelligent girl who had lived with Williams for two years, her aunt, Yolanda Brown, told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Williams reported Alford missing on Oct. 26, but investigators believe the girl was last seen alive four days earlier, on Oct. 22. Williams told police that Alford walked to the bus stop for school that morning and never came home, according to the Inquirer, which cited officials.
Brown described a different account, telling the Inquirer that Williams called and said Alford’s biological mother had picked her up. Brown said she then contacted her sister, who denied having Alford with her.
Brown also said Alford never made it to school on Oct. 26, CBS News reported.
Authorities, assisted by the FBI, began searching for Alford. Investigators said she was last seen wearing glasses, a blue uniform, blue stockings and either Crocs or black sneakers.
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After canvassing neighborhoods, interviewing witnesses and following leads, investigators reviewed surveillance footage recorded in the early hours of Oct. 26. The video ultimately helped lead them to Alford’s body.
“There was video that shows what we believe to be her body being moved out of the home,” Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney Ashley Toczylowski said during the press conference. “Last night, around 11 p.m., law enforcement officials were able to locate her in the trunk of a vehicle in New Jersey, and it was immediately apparent that she had been there for a while.”
Toczylowski said an unidentified person helped authorities find Alford’s body.
According to a preliminary postmortem examination cited by Toczylowski, Alford died from blunt force trauma. Her death was classified as a homicide.
“We do have an indication that there were instances of abuse happening,” Toczylowski said, “and that items were used to carry out that abuse.”
Members of Alford’s community have covered the outside of her former home with pink and white balloons.
“For me to come out here to something like this is very devastating,” neighbor Tyeisha Stots told CBS News. “I was sad last night. I couldn’t sleep.”
Valerie Brown, whose son attended camp with Alford, added, “I’m feeling hurt. I’m feeling — my spirit is heavy. I have a lot of knots in my stomach and, you know, it just hits very close to home for me.”
Williams was denied bail and is scheduled to appear next in Philadelphia Municipal Court on Nov. 23.
