Woman Arrested In Palm Beach For Murdering Her 3-Year-Old In Las Vegas 32 Years Ago
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A Dania Beach woman has been arrested and charged with a decades old crime.
Investigators in Nevada believe she is their suspect in a missing child cold case.
That child is her own son.
Police say he vanished more than 30 years ago when he was just three years old.
60-year-old Amy Elizabeth Fleming was arrested on January 29th in Palm Beach.
She is currently being held at the West Palm Beach County Main Detention Center for the murder of her son.
Fleming used to go by the name Amy Luster.
According to the U.S. Marshall's office, she is being charged with felony murder for the death of her 3-year-old son Francillon Pierre.
Both were living in Las Vegas at the time of the alleged crime.
North Las Vegas Police believe Fleming killed the boy, who was last seen on August 2nd, 1986, at a swap meet.
She referred to her son as Yo-Yo and reported him missing that day.
The boy's photo was seen on flyers and posted by the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children.
Former CBS Nevada anchor and journalist George Knapp covered the case and remembers seeing Francillon's face everywhere.
He said, "That one photo, that face, the innocence of that smiling 3-year-old face combined with the suspicion that he had likely met a terrible fate was gripping and emotional."
He recalled having Fleming from the show with her new husband and child's stepfather. He said they begged for their child's safe return.
Little did the public know his mother and step father were hiding a dark secret.
"They were already facing felony charges of child abuse for beating that little boy, whipping him so hard it left gashes and scars," he said.
The Lusters reported Francillon missing right before they were due to be sentenced for felony child abuse.
Knapp added, "A month after Francillon disappeared, we had learned that they were selling his toys. They were having a garage sale at their house to sell his toys off."
The National Center of Missing and Exploited Children released an age-processed photo in 2011 of what Francillon would've looked like at 29 years old.
CBS4 has also learned that he is still to this day listed as missing in the North Las Vegas database.
Authorities have yet to say what new evidence led to Fleming's arrest. They are planning on releasing those details Monday afternoon.
Fleming will be extradited to Nevada where she will stand trial. Her bail was set at $1 million.