Man Linked To D.C. Amber Alert Charged In Wife's Murder
OXON HILL, Md. (WJZ) – Major developments in the Amber Alert for a little girl in Washington D.C. The case is now tied to a murder in Maryland.
Mary Bubala has the latest.
Police have issued an arrest warrant for 51-year-old Kahlil Tatum, charging him with murdering his wife, Andrea. They believe Tatum is traveling with eight-year-old Relisha Rudd, who's been missing for weeks.
D.C. Metro Police put out the alert--eight-year-old Relisha Rudd is missing. She may be traveling in either a red SUV or a black Honda.
It did not take long for someone to spot the cars in the parking lot of the Oxon Hill Red Roof Inn. Police rushed to the hotel and started pounding on doors.
"They were real loud, looking for people and seeing who was in which rooms," Randolph Byrd said, hotel resident.
They found the victim, Andrea Tatum, in a first floor room, nearest to the cars. Police say she sustained an apparent gunshot wound and was pronounced dead on the scene.
"Once we got on scene, we checked several rooms and we came across a deceased adult female suffering from trauma to the body," said Officer Harry Bond, Prince George's County Police.
An adult woman--murdered in the room, but no sign of little Relisha Rudd anywhere.
Police issued an Amber Alert, saying the girl may be in the company of two men--Kahlil Tatum, the owner of the vehicles and a maintenance man in the shelter where the girl lived, and his friend, Ricky Lyles, a man with a long criminal history, including a child abuse conviction.
"Relisha is very smart, she's got a big heart, she likes to make friends," said Antonio Wheeler, family friend.
Police say Relisha and the men may have been in a white 1976 GMC truck, but that truck was discovered along Eastern Avenue between Prince George's County and the district, but no sign of Relisha or the men.
People staying at the Red Roof Inn say they saw nothing unusual in the room and if Relisha was there, they did not notice.
"Never seen the girl, haven't seen the woman. I've seen a picture of the girl, but I haven't seen her out here," Byrd said.
Tatum and the little girl are believed to be in the Richmond, Virginia area now.
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