St. Louis County Police spokesman Rick Eckhard holds a blanket and pajama top identical to the one Tyler Dasher wore when he disappeared from his home in St. Louis County, Mo., early Tuesday.
By Christian Gooden, AP
St. Louis County Police spokesman Rick Eckhard holds a blanket and pajama top identical to the one Tyler Dasher wore when he disappeared from his home in St. Louis County, Mo., early Tuesday.
St. Louis County Police spokesman Rick Eckhard holds a blanket and pajama top identical to the one Tyler Dasher wore when he disappeared from his home in St. Louis County, Mo., early Tuesday.
No charges had been filed by midday Wednesday against 20-year-old Shelby Dasher, who was taken into custody at about 2:30 a.m., said Antoinette King, a St. Louis County jail booking clerk.
King said Dasher was on a 24-hour hold, a form of detention meant to give the police a day to build a case. If no charges are brought in that time, Dasher must be released.
Tyler Dasher was reported missing from the Affton home he shared with his mother and grandmother at about 11 a.m. Tuesday. Shelby Dasher told police that she overslept that morning and discovered him gone from his crib when she awoke.
People walking a dog discovered Tyler's body a few hours later near the St. Marcus Cemetery, about a mile from the family's home, St. Louis County Police Chief Tim Fitch said.
The medical examiner could not immediately determine the cause of death, and Fitch declined to discuss the condition of the body at a news conference Tuesday.
Police said no further information would be released until the prosecutor had reviewed the case. Prosecutor Bob McCulloch didn't respond to phone messages seeking comment.
Investigators consider the case an "abduction or apparent homicide," but they don't have a possible motive for the killing, county police spokesman Rick Eckhard said in a written statement. Eckhard said he could not discuss the investigation in further detail.
Fitch said Tyler's mother and father, who live separately, were cooperating with police.
Detectives and uniformed officers on Wednesday came and went from the family's small frame home, which is in a working class neighborhood. Yellow police tape surrounded the home, and a large Halloween pumpkin was on the front porch.
A long, wide area near the cemetery was also cordoned off. Police dogs sniffed the ground while officers placed barricades around the area where the small body was found. A cluster of young adults at the cemetery cried and hugged as they watched. It wasn't clear if they were relatives of Tyler, and they declined interview requests.
The body was found within about 100 feet of a busy road.
"It says to me it's a pretty sick person," Fitch said. "Anybody that would take a child and leave a child in a wooded area in that condition needs to be dealt with severely by the criminal justice system."
Earlier Wednesday, police brought a handcuffed person whose identify was concealed by a sweat shirt to the scene where the body was found and to the house.
Johnny Ellington, whose 24-year-old son, Joe Ellington, is Tyler's father, said he knew little about the investigation beyond what had been reported in the news. He said his family had been questioned by police and that the family advised Joe not to talk to the media.
Johnny Ellington, 65, said his son and Shelby Dasher were never married, and that his family saw Tyler frequently.
"He was just a wonderful baby and beautiful boy," Johnny Ellington said.
Neighbors described the area where the Dashers live as quiet, the people close. But several neighbors said they knew little about Shelby Dasher or her son because the Dashers had only moved into their rented home a little over a year ago.
"Everybody here kind of knows each other, but not them," said Rick Angeles, 28, who lives across the street with his wife and 3-year-old son. Angeles said a lot of young people were in and out of the Dasher home frequently but he never saw anything that concerned him.
Tim Adair was visiting his sister's home three houses down from the Dashers. He said Tyler's grandmother came over Tuesday, distraught, and told them the boy was missing. She said she had no idea where he could be.
"My niece gave her a hug and talked with her and prayed with her," Adair said. "I can't imagine how difficult this would be."
[A PICTURE OF THE MOTHER OR WHT WAS WORKING IN HER OR WHOM EVER KILLED THE CHILD]
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