Darrian Randle, Newark, Delaware mom charged with murder of Nola Dinkins, 3 year old daughter after lying about girl being abducted. Cedrick Britten of Maryland, the suspect’s boyfriend also faces charges.
A Delaware mom who previously reported her 3 year old daughter abducted at gunpoint and leading to a ‘false Amber Alert’ now faces murder charges after authorities found holes in her story leading up to the recovery of the child’s body.
Darrian Randle, 31, of Newark, Delaware was arrested and initially charged with filing a police report over the alleged kidnapping of 3 year old girl, Nola Dinkins, whose body, Maryland State Police believe they had recovered, Wednesday afternoon.
Mom beat 3 year old to death w/ belt, hid body in suitcase before dumping it in vacant lot
Darrian Randle files false Amber Alert
Authorities were awaiting the return of an autopsy report confirming the positive identification of ‘child human remains‘ recovered at a vacant lot in Cecil County, Maryland, CBS News Philadelphia reported.
The mother’s arrest came hours before authorities announcing Wednesday night, Randle now faced murder charges in her 3 year old daughter’s ‘homicide death.’
New Castle County Police in Delaware said investigators determined the initial account given by Nola’s mom, who reported her missing Tuesday night, was false. Cops said the case was now being investigated as a homicide for the 3-year-old who is from Cecil County in Maryland.
Maryland State Police said just after 1.45 p.m. on Wednesday that a body had been found in Cecil County
Delaware mom charged with daughter, Nola Dinkins murder
Elena Russo, the spokesperson for Maryland State Police, said the human remains found ‘looked to be of a child.’
Maryland police stated Randle following her initial arrest faced additional charges, including first- and second-degree murder, first degree of child abuse resulting in death of a minor under thirteen, and other related criminal charges in Maryland, WPVI reported.
Cedrick Britten, 44, who police believe is Randle’s boyfriend, was charged with accessory to first- and second-degree murder after the fact, failure to report child death, and other offenses.
Randle, who has ties to both Newark, Delware, and North East, Maryland, was being held on $1 million cash bail. She is awaiting extradition to Cecily County.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by WPVI, Randle admitted to lying about the kidnapping and the suspect involved. Randle allegedly told police she falsely reported the kidnapping to ‘divert attention from her boyfriend,’ the complaint said.
The mother’s arrest follows conflicting reports by New Castle County Police and Maryland State Police regarding the investigation.
On Tuesday, New Castle County Police stated that Dinkins had stated that the 3 year old was abducted at gunpoint by a man on the 500 block of Gender Road in Newark, Delaware, around 7:15 p.m.
Based on the original report, police said Dinkins’ mother told investigators she pulled over to calm down the toddler when they were approached by a stranger with a gun who the mom alleged took the child before driving away in an SUV with a woman behind the wheel.
Authorities soon after issued an Amber Alert for the missing child before revoking it late Wednesday morning and calling the investigation into Nola’s disappearance as that of a homicide.
Early Wednesday morning, New Castle County Police revealed officers searching an apartment complex about 2 miles away from where Dinkins was reported missing. It remained unclear if human remains were found near residential buildings.
Authorities to date have not released the cause of death of 3 year old girl Nola Dinkins as they await the return of autopsy results.
Anyone with information relevant to this investigation is urged to contact the Maryland State Police North East Barrack at 410-996-7800.
Maryland State Police are leading the investigation with the help of the FBI.
