DNA identifies child found in duffle bag as missing Philadelphia 4-year-old Damari Carter, police say
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - DNA evidence identified a 4-year-old child found stuffed inside a duffle bag in Philadelphia's Mantua neighborhood in March as Damari Carter, police said Wednesday.
Dominique Bailey, Damari's mother, and her boyfriend Kevin Spencer are facing multiple charges, including murder, according to court documents.
Police said a child's body was found at a property in the 600 block of North 38th Street just before 10 a.m. on Monday, March 18. At the time, police said they couldn't determine if there were signs of trauma to the body because the remains were "severely decomposed."
On April 3, police said DNA indicated the body was Damari Carter, a 4-year-old boy who had been missing since late December 2023.
According to police, family members reported Damari missing on Dec. 30, 2023, after not seeing the boy for weeks.
Bailey allegedly told family that Damari was struck and killed by a car, but police found no evidence to corroborate her claim.
Police brought Bailey in for questioning on Jan. 4 about her involvement in her son's death. Police then arrested her.
Bailey and Spencer were charged in the boy's death in January.
In January, police searched the West Philadelphia neighborhood where the boy lived but were not successful.
According to court documents, Bailey and Spencer are both charged with murder, conspiracy, endangering the welfare of a child, abuse of corpse, false reporting, tampering and criminal use of a communication facility.