Police: 2-Year-Old Byron McDonald Found Safe, Alleged Abductor Connected To Recent Homicides Of Boy's Mother, Grandmother
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Two-year-old Byron McDonald has been found safe and unharmed, along with his alleged abductor 28-year-old Byron McDonald II, in a hotel room by the Philadelphia International Airport, according to Philadelphia Police. Police say McDonald II is the boy's father.
McDonald II is a confirmed suspect in the recent homicides of the 2-year-old's mother and grandmother. He was taken into police custody and a woman was also found in the hotel room. No injuries were reported.
The boy's grandmother, who police sources identify as 50-year-old Tamara Aikens, was killed Friday on North Bancroft Street.
The boy's mother, who police sources identify as 25-year-old Morgan Braxton, was found dead Monday in a home on North 8th Street.
Pennsylvania State Police issued an Amber Alert for the boy Monday morning.
McDonald was reportedly last seen driving a 2017 red Chevy Malibu, however, the car was found abandoned near 4300 Island Avenue in Southwest. Police were searching the nearby hotels for any sign of McDonald or the child and declared it a barricade situation before locating the suspect and the boy.
Eyewitness News cameras were rolling as police walked him out in handcuffs.
The Amber Alert issued Monday morning said the child was last seen on Friday, April 9 at approximately 1:30 p.m. in the area of 2500 North Bancroft Street.
McDonald is accused of abducting the 2-year-old on Friday after law enforcement sources say the elder McDonald shot and killed the 2-year-old's grandmother.
This morning, it's alleged McDonald also shot the child's mother at a home in the 4800 block of North 8th Street in North Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Joel Dales provided an update, with some limited information on how the cases connect.
"The officers later learned that the decedent had a 2-year-old child that was unaccounted for at the time. We also received information that the 2-year-old child and the victim's car may have been in possession of the decedent's boyfriend," Dales said.
Police received a tip around 1:15 p.m. Monday that a car matching the description of the Amber Alert was located outside an airport hotel.
"My coworker, she's at the Four Points right now, she said that she'd seen the guy when he came in, the guy with the bald head. I don't think she noticed a son but she definitely seen him," a hotel employee said.
Police identified this woman as the one who helped McDonald rent the room. Police sources say the woman is Byron McDonald II's mother.
She denied any involvement.
"I don't know what you're talking about, sir," she said. "I don't know what's going on but I'm great."
CBS3's Joe Holden contributed to this report.
