Prosecutors opted not to pursue a murder charge against a D.C. woman whose infant son has been missing since May 5. She allegedly told police the baby died while in bed with her and she disposed of his body.
LaDonia Boggs, 38, was initially accused by D.C. police of felony murder after the disappearance of her son, 2-month-old Kyon Jones. She appeared in D.C. Superior Court on Saturday and the U.S. attorney’s office went forward with a charge of tampering with evidence, not the murder charge, law enforcement sources said. It’s possible that additional charges could be added later.
Boggs was released on no-cost bail and told to return to court in November.
We've got the news you need to know to start your day. Sign up for the First & 4Most morning newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily. >Sign up here.
Court documents say Boggs told police she accidentally rolled on top of the infant in bed while under the influence of PCP, panicked and disposed of his body.
Boggs said in an interview on video obtained by News4, “He was ‘sleep on my chest and when I woke up, he wasn’t breathing anymore.”
She said she felt afraid and spoke first by phone and then in person with a woman who asked her about Kyon’s whereabouts. Boggs said she “got frustrated,” walked around the block and returned home.
“I came back in the house and got a blanket and his car seat, and wrapped it up and took it outside and just throwed it in the trash,” she said.
Court documents say surveillance video at Boggs’ apartment complex on Benning Road NE show her carrying to the dumpster a car seat, a plastic bag and a cardboard box that appeared "large enough to carry a 2-month-old infant.”
Officials searched a landfill in the Richmond area for days but did not find the infant’s body.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.