Mariah Woods’ Mother Blaming Her Son For North Carolina Toddler’s Death: Report
After her mother’s boyfriend was arrested for the death of three-year-old Mariah Wood, her father came forward to allege that his ex-wife was trying to shift the blame on Mariah’s 10-year-old brother.
The toddler was found at the bottom of Shelter Creek in Pender County, North Carolina, just 20 minutes away from her home Saturday after an AMBER Alert was issued for her early morning Nov. 26, after she went missing the previous night.
Earl Kimrey, the boyfriend of Kristy Hunter, the child’s mother, was charged in connection with the death.
Hunter has not been charged with any crimes in connection with Mariah’s death and has not been named a person of interest. Mariah’s brother also has not been charged in connection with her death. The official cause of death is yet to be determined by the coroner.
Mariah’s father Alex Wood and his fiancée Heather Craft revealed in a recent interview with Nancy Grace of "Crime Stories" that the police were no longer believing Hunter’s account of the events that led to the disappearance and death of the toddler.
They mentioned that Hunter reportedly tried to blame the little girl’s death on her son, who, according to reports, was in the house at the time the 3-year-old girl disappeared from her Jacksonville home.
“They’re [law enforcement] are trying to figure out exactly what happened,” Craft said in the interview.
“I can tell you right now, [the brother] didn’t do it,” Grace said, Crime Online reported. “It’s practically unheard for one sibling to kill another sibling. Yes it does happen in some freaky situations, but no. Typically no.”
Wood further alleged that Hunter fabricated the circumstances under which Mariah went missing as neither she nor her boyfriend was present at the time.
"Somebody just walks right in there, grabs a 3-year-old out of the bed, she didn’t cry, she didn’t scream?" Wood said before Kimery’s arrest. "Nobody heard nothing? Four people in the house, two adults and two babies and somebody just comes, snatches the baby up and walks out?"
The toddler was last seen 11 p.m. on the night of Nov. 25, and Wood said the couple didn't arrive home until midnight.
Hunter, on the other hand, told the authorities following her daughter's disappearance that Mariah was abducted right under their noses.
However, Wood added that Mariah’s body might have been “dumped” after the duo returned to the house.
On Friday, the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI detained Kimery, 32, in connection with Mariah's disappearance.
According to Kimery’s arrest warrant, he was accused of "removing Mariah Woods' body from the scene of her death" and concealing "Mariah Woods' death and body, knowing that Mariah died from unnatural causes. The defendant acted with deceit and intent to fraud."
In addition, Kimery was also charged with obstruction of justice, second-degree burglary, larceny and possession of stolen property.
According to state records, Kimery had previously been charged with larceny, assault and drunk and disorderly conduct. He is currently being held in the Onslow County Detention Center on a $1 million bond.
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