A 4-year-old boy named Damari Carter, who has been missing since November, has not been located yet. Authorities suspect that he may have passed away by now, but they have not discovered the body of the child. The child's mother, Dominique Bailey, and her boyfriend, Kevin Spencer, have been charged in connection with his disappearance and presumed murder.
Trigger warning: The article contains references to the possible death of a child. Readers' discretion is advised.
Bailey reportedly told her family members that Carter was struck by a vehicle and died in the collision. However, police officials have not discovered any evidence to support this claim. Damari Carter's family has described the entire incident as devastating.
Damari Carter was last seen in November 2023, after which his whereabouts had become unknown
On November 25, 2023, Carter was last seen, as claimed by his family members. However, the investigation to locate the missing child began on December 30. While Carter's mother allegedly told the family that he was killed in a crash, investigators have found no evidence to support such a claim of a possible crash in the area. While the search for the missing kid is still ongoing, authorities reportedly believe that he is dead.
Meanwhile, Carter's mother, Dominique, and her boyfriend, Kevin, have been arrested in connection to the case. WPVI reported that Dominique has been charged with murder, endangering the welfare of a child, false reports, and abuse of a corpse. Kevin also faces several charges, including criminal conspiracy, murder, endangering the welfare of a child, false reports, tampering with evidence, and abuse of a corpse.
On Sunday, cops investigated Kevin's residence on the 3800 block of Reno Street, as reported by 6 ABC. Several officers were seen carrying several bags of evidence out of the house. According to cops, the young child was possibly beaten to death. Several details regarding the disappearance and a possible death of Damari Carter is unknown as of now.
Carter's family is looking answers to questions surrounding his disappearance
The missing child's family members are asking questions related to his disappearance. They spoke to Action News about the tragic incident. According to Carter's cousin, Aiyana Parrish,
"How could anybody look and put their hands on him and hurt him like that? It broke my heart."
Parrish further added:
"Once everybody started to get cops involved because we’re calling the children’s hospital and they’re like, 'We’ve never heard of Damari Carter ever.'"
Nakia Bailey, Carter's aunt, has described him as an "innocent sweetheart." Nakia further mentioned that Dominique and Damari Carter were living with her in Texas until last year, when they shifted to Philadelphia. She continued,
"What happened to him was senseless. I'm heartbroken. We still haven't had peace. We don't know where he is and it's all because of my sister. It didn't have to happen. That baby was wanted. If not by her, by everyone else. His father wanted him."
Nakia Bailey further told the news station that the family wants to find the whereabouts of the child so that they can at least get closure and arrange for a proper funeral.