PHILADELPHIA — Police have arrested the babysitter of a 2-year-old boy who is presumed dead after he was reported missing earlier this month.
Authorities said King Hill was in the custody of Tianna Parks, 24, when he vanished July 7. She was arraigned Monday on charges including murder, endangering the welfare of children and abuse of a corpse, WTXF-TV reported. A judge has ordered that she remain in jail without bail, according to the news station.
As of Monday, officials with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said that authorities had yet to recover King’s body. However, they said that investigators found cellphone and video evidence that led them to conclude that the 2-year-old has died. Officials did not elaborate.
“The death of King Hill is an unbearable tragedy that is compounded by Tianna Parks’ actions. This precious baby’s family and community deserve to know how he died,” Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said in a statement. “They deserve the opportunity to bury and mourn him with dignity. This child deserved so much better in life.”
Authorities told KYW-TV that King’s stepfather put him in Parks’ custody prior to the toddler’s death. He called police July 7 after he realized Parks didn’t have the child, the news station reported.
According to WPVI-TV, King’s stepfather told authorities that Parks dropped the boy off with his mother July 7, though she told authorities that she never picked up the child.
Anthony Voci, chief of the homicide unit in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, told KTXF-TV that “virtually everything (Parks) told us was refuted by the evidence that the FBI and Philadelphia Police Department developed.”
Kimberly Hill, King’s maternal grandmother, told WPVI-TV that King’s family wants to bring the 2-year-old home so that they can bury him.
“Wherever he is at, whatever happened to him, just bring him back so we can put King to rest,” she said. “He was amazing. Everybody loved King.”