Amari Nicholson Update: Mother's Boyfriend Abused, Killed Missing 2-Year-Old Child

The body of a 2-year-old, who went missing last week in Nevada was found Wednesday afternoon, the police said.

Terrell Rhodes, 27, the boyfriend of Amari Nicholson’s mother, was arrested on murder charges.

The police told the media the child's body was located near the 400 block of East Twain Avenue, less than a mile south of Emerald Suites where he was last seen on May 5.

"This case started out as a missing persons investigation, and, unfortunately, I'm here to tell you today that it is now a homicide," Lt. Richard Meyers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said Tuesday evening, according to the CNN.

Rhodes was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Amari, authorities said. Prosecutor Tim Fattig said at Rhodes' initial court appearance Wednesday that he admitted to killing the baby.

"The defendant ended up confessing to Metropolitan Police detectives that he abused the child, hit the child numerous times, causing his death," he said, CNN reported. "He then ended up hiding the body after this occurred."

Prosecutors said that during initial questioning, Rhodes lied to investigators. However, blood evidence found inside Rhodes' apartment hinted at his involvement. During the hearing, Rhodes was ordered to remain in jail without bail.

"The state is entitled to detention at this early stage in proceedings based on the nature of the charge," Justice of the Peace Joe Bonaventure with the Las Vegas Justice Court said, adding that Rhodes must return to court next Monday.

The child's body was sent to the coroner's office to determine the manner of death.

According to the police, the child was left in the care of Rhodes while his mother was out of town in Colorado. Rhodes said a woman showed up at the apartment the couple shared and claimed to be Amari's paternal family member. She said she was there to pick up the child. After his disappearance, the family sought the public's help.

“Amari needs you to be his voice right now. He needs you to come out here and hand out these flyers whether you’re in Henderson or Summerlin or Anthem,” searcher Margarita Edwards told the public during the search operation. “We’re going to keep looking. We’re going to keep searching. We just need more people. If this was your child, you’d want everybody searching, so we need you to help us."