A Maryland mother claimed a white man taken her toddler at gunpoint, but then the truth came out.
Mom told cops a white man kidnapped her child
Authorities revealed her claim that her 3-year-old daughter had been abducted was actually a complete a fabrication.
The woman is now facing multiple charges, including murder, in connection with the child’s death.
The ordeal began on the evening of June 10 when 31-year-old Darrian Randle of North East, Maryland, contacted police in Newark, Delaware.
She told officers that her three-year-old daughter, Nola Dinkins, had been kidnapped by a white man with a gun after she had pulled over to console her upset child.
According to Randle, a white male suspect approached her with a gun and took off with her daughter.
She gave law enforcement a detailed description of the suspect, claiming he was a 40-year-old white man, who was bald, scraggly, and dressed in a black hoodie and gray basketball shorts.
She also told officers the man kidnapped her daughter, then fled in a car with a blonde white woman.
Following her report, an Amber Alert was issued with a vehicle description of a dark SUV with a weathered, dirty exterior.
Police call off Amber Alert
The next day, that alert was withdrawn after a major development in the investigation.
Andrea Botterbusch of the New Castle County Police Department said in a statement, “Detectives determined that the initial account of the incident given by the mother was false.”
Police in Delaware then asked Maryland State Police to perform a welfare check at Randle’s last known residence in North East.
Troopers arrived at the home of 44-year-old Cedrick Antoine Britten, identified as Randle’s boyfriend.
When questioned, Britten claimed that the child had already left with her mother.
However, when authorities reviewed surveillance footage from several exterior cameras, they noted something troubling.
According to charging documents, only Randle was seen leaving the residence. The child was never seen on any of the video recordings.
Police searched the home with Britten’s consent and reported detecting the strong odor of bleach and other cleaning agents.
While the child was not found, troopers also searched Britten’s vehicle, where they reportedly discovered a child’s blanket stained with what appeared to be dried blood.
Britten told officers the blanket wasn’t his and claimed it had been given to him by a stranger in a park last year.
As the investigation progressed, Randle was brought in for questioning by Delaware authorities.
Mom admits to lying about white man kidnapping daughter
After giving what police described as a series of false and misleading accounts, she eventually admitted that her abduction story had been a lie.
According to the charging documents, Randle admitted to physically assaulting her daughter while at Britten’s home.
“Randle confessed to physically striking [the child] with a belt approximately 15-20 times about her body during the daytime hours on Monday [June 9],” the documents state.
Randle claimed the child collapsed and became unresponsive after the beating. She then called Britten for help. The two reportedly attempted CPR but were unable to revive the girl.
Realizing she had died, Randle said she and Britten placed the child’s body in Britten’s vehicle and drove around before ultimately bringing the body back to the house.
Once back at the residence, Randle allegedly placed her daughter’s body into a suitcase, which she stored in the basement overnight.
The following day, according to authorities, she asked Britten to dispose of her child’s corpse.
Investigators eventually located the suitcase in a wooded area that was directly behind Britten’s property.
Inside the suitcase, police found remains consistent with a child’s body, fully encased in plastic wrap and appearing emaciated.
An autopsy was scheduled by the Maryland medical examiner to officially identify the remains and determine the cause and manner of death.
On June 11, Randle was arrested and charged with first- and second-degree murder, first-degree child abuse resulting in the death of a minor under the age of 13, and a number of related charges.
She is currently being held in Delaware, awaiting extradition to Maryland. Her bond has been set at $1 million.
Meanwhile, Britten was charged in Maryland as an accessory to first- and second-degree murder and other related offenses.
While prosecutors petitioned the judge to deny bail, Britten was instead released under home detention after posting a $75,000 bond.
