crime
Foster mother charged in murder of 10-year-old Malayshia Allford
Carprice Williams, 36, a Philadelphia schoolteacher, was charged with murder after the body of her foster daughter was found in a car trunk in South Jersey. Williams continued teaching while the girl was dead.
A Philadelphia foster mother was charged with murder after the body of her 10-year-old foster daughter was found in the trunk of a car in South Jersey, 6abc reported.
Carprice Williams, 36, is charged in the death of Malayshia Allford, 10. Williams is a 5th grade teacher at Lewis C. Cassidy School in Philadelphia, where she is listed as Dr. Williams.
The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide caused by blunt force trauma. The body was found in the trunk of a car at the Stonington Court Apartments in Lindenwold, New Jersey, about 20 miles from Williams’ home.
Surveillance video from Oct. 26 at 1:53 a.m. shows Williams removing the body from her home on the 600 block of North Simpson Street, according to police.
Williams continued teaching and held a pizza party with her students while the girl was dead in the trunk. Malayshia was the subject of a 10-day search. She was last seen alive on Oct. 22.
Williams is held without bail and is due back in court on Nov. 23.
What the coverage missed
The 6abc report covers the arrest in detail but does not explain how Williams became a foster parent. The foster care system is supposed to vet caregivers before placing children with them. A 5th grade teacher with a doctorate would pass most background checks. The system worked as designed, and a child is dead.
The report also does not explain why Malayshia was in foster care. The circumstances that led to her placement are not mentioned. Without that context, the story is a crime story. With it, it is a story about a system that failed a child twice.
The 10-day gap between when Malayshia was last seen and when the body was found is not explored. Williams was teaching, holding pizza parties and living her life while the body was in the trunk. The normalcy is the most disturbing detail, and the report does not examine it.
What I think
The details of this case are hard to read. A 10-year-old girl is dead. Her foster mother, a teacher, is charged with killing her. The mother continued working, teaching children, while the body was in the trunk of her car.
The foster care system is supposed to protect children. Malayshia was placed with Williams by an agency or a court. Someone decided Williams was a suitable caregiver. That decision was wrong, and a child died because of it.
Williams is held without bail. She is due back in court on Nov. 23. The case will take months to resolve. The question that will not be answered in court is how a system designed to protect children placed a 10-year-old with the person who killed her.