PASADENA, md. — A 17-year-old is charged with murdering his 5-year-old half-sister in their Pasadena home.
Within hours of finding the child dead in her bed, police identified her half-brother as the suspect and arrested him in Ohio with the family car that he stole.
"It really makes you wonder. You’re 100 feet way from something going on, you don’t know what’s happening," said neighbor Weezer Allen.
Allen is still in shock after learning what happened just across the street.
"That family, I can’t imagine what this group is going through. Losing really two children in the one incident has to be horrific," said Lt. Jackie Davis with Anne Arundel County Police.
Saturday morning, officers responded to the 4100 block of Apple Leaf Court and discovered 5-year-old Anaya Jannah Abdul dead in her bed. An autopsy showed she died from multiple sharp force injuries.
Evidence recovered revealed that the victim's 17-year-old half brother, Stephen Jarrod Davis was the suspect in this homicide.
As a result of the investigative evidence, homicide detectives were able to obtain an arrest warrant charging Davis as an adult with first degree murder.
On Saturday at about 11:30 a.m., detectives, with the assistance of Ohio police agencies, were able to locate Davis in Springfield, Ohio with the family car that he stole.
Davis was arrested by Ohio authorities and is currently awaiting extradition back to Maryland. There were no additional criminal charges placed in Ohio.
"As soon as we get him back here to the county, that’s when our wheels of justice will start turning and it will go to the court system," said Davis.
Abdul was a kindergarten student at Fort Smallwood Elementary School, according to the school's principal. Principal Bobbie Kesecker sent a letter to parents Sunday expressing, "heartache." The letter says Abdul enjoyed drawing, making videos, dancing, and singing.
The Anne Arundel County Police Crisis Intervention Team is working with the first responders and the victim’s family to provide resources during this tragedy.
"We can’t just go in and walk back out. The scene has to be processed. The child has to be sent to the medical examiners office and it’s all people that have to physically do that. People with families, with children and nieces and nephews, and it takes its toll," said Davis. "When you have a small child whose life was taken away from them by another person, there’s no words for that. I think we all just pray for this family."
Detectives are still looking into a motive in this case. The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to call Detective Lewis at 410-222-3460 and tips may be called into the tip line at 410-222-4700.
