Foster parent accused of murdering 10-year-old girl in her care

(ABC NEWS) — A Philadelphia foster parent is accused of the “brutal murder” of a 10-year-old girl in her care who was initially reported missing and later found dead following a dayslong search, officials said.

The girl, Malayshia Alford, was located in a vehicle in New Jersey this week following the urgent search, officials said.

Carprice Williams, 36, has been charged with murder in connection with the girl’s death, as well as endangering the welfare of a child, possession of an instrument of crime, recklessly endangering another person, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse, according to police.

Williams was Malayshia’s foster parent, according to Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, calling it a “horrific situation” during a news conference on Thursday announcing the charges.

Malayshia is believed to have been last seen alive on October 22 at her home in Philadelphia, according to Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney Ashley Toczylowski.

Investigators believe that shortly before 2 a.m. on October 26, an individual removed her body from the home “in some type of bag” and into a vehicle, she said, citing video surveillance law enforcement officials say they recovered this week. That individual was not Williams, according to the district attorney.

The video helped identify a suspect vehicle, and a witness associated with the vehicle assisted in leading investigators to Malayshia, according to Toczylowski. The girl’s body was found in the trunk of another vehicle in New Jersey on Wednesday night, Toczylowski said.

“It was immediately apparent that she had been there for a while,” Toczylowski said during the news conference.

Based on a preliminary autopsy, Malayshia’s cause of death is blunt force trauma, and the manner of death has been ruled a homicide, Toczylowski said.

“We do have the indication that there were instances of abuse happening, and that items were used to carry out that abuse,” she said.

Williams was denied bail during a court appearance on Friday.

She is next due in court on November 23 for a preliminary hearing.