Oakland police are investigating the possible murder of a toddler two days before Christmas, whose body was reportedly later found buried in a shallow grave in Napa County.
SFist mentioned this tragic case this morning, but now more details are emerging, including the identity of the two-year-old boy who was killed. As KTVU reports via friends and family of the boy and his mother, the victim was two-year-old Ja'mari "Guerrero" Madkins, and police were first informed of the boy's death on December 23. The Oakland Police Department received word about the boy's death via San Pablo police, reportedly around 2:30 a.m. on Friday.
Homicide detectives soon determined that the killing occurred in Oakland, but somehow the boy's body was transported 60 miles north and buried in Napa County. It's not clear when the remains were discovered.
KTVU has a clue about the Napa connection: Ja'mari's mother, identified as Alondra in a GoFundMe posting, lived with the boy in Fairfield, in Solano County, but police were searching along Rockville Road in Fairfield which also extends west into Napa County. It's not clear if the body was found along this road or elsewhere. Police reportedly told onlookers that they had received information about a boy's body having been buried in the area.
Police have not released many details in the case or confirmed the boy's identity. As KPIX reports, an individual has been arrested in connection with the boy's death, and the arrest occurred with the help of San Pablo police.
A friend of the boy's grandmother, Ashleigh McCullough, tells KTVU that she did not know anything about the circumstances of Ja'mari's death, but that the family was "grieving and heartbroken."
"He just had the cutest curls," McCullough told the station. "He loved his grandma's rice and beans. He was always stirring up trouble, like a toddler. He was just a joy having him in the house."
Friends are trying to raise $12,000 on GoFundMe for the boy's funeral.
Oakland police are asking anyone with information about the case to call the Homicide Section at 510-238-3821 or the tip line at 510-238-7950.