An Alabama mother has been charged in a case involving a missing child that investigators believe has been dead for months.
Wendy Pamela Bailey, 22, faces charges of aggravated child abuse, first-degree domestic violence, abuse of a corpse, and criminally negligent homicide, reported WVUA-23.
The charges relate to the disappearance of toddler Kahleb Collins. Authorities were unaware that he was missing until a fatal car accident on Dec. 8 claimed the lives of the father, Steven Bradley "Brad" Collins, and a 2-year-old sibling Ryleigh Collins, the TV station reported.
The criminally negligent homicide charge is related to the death of 2-year-old Ryleigh Collins in the car accident as an investigation showed the child was unrestrained at the time of the crash, AL.com reported.
The website reported that the remaining charges related to Kahleb, who was last seen on September 4.
Bailey allegedly failed to intervene when Collins was abusing Kahleb, according to AL.com. The website states that court records documented an exchange in which Collins messaged Bailey that he was going to kill Kahleb.
Photographs showed Kahleb "hanging from a loft with a rope with blood present on his body," and then a photo of him lying face up and bruised.
The website reported that Collins eventually sent a text indicating that Kahleb was "moving," to which Bailey replied, "He just looks wore out and tire (sic) and hurt hopefully that's all."
