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Six-Week-Old Baby Drowns Inside Mall, Mother Arrested, Charged With Murder

By Rahul Srinivas
Published on: 13:06 PST, Jul 19, 2016

A 24-year-old woman from North Carolina has been arrested and was subsequently charged with murder after the the body of her 6-week-old baby was found in a small pond located inside a South Carolina mall. According to a report by The State, the woman, identified as Jameish Katara Alexander, is a resident of Carrboro, North Carolina. An officer from Long Jail records confirmed the arrest and the subsequent charges leveled against Jameish Katara Alexander.

Initial reports say that the incident that led to the baby’s death happened on Saturday after the body of the little child was discovered in a pond located near Tanger Outlets on U.S. 501. The baby was later identified as King Khalil Jair Alexander. The State reveals that the baby was found lying face down inside the pond located on top of a drainage pipe by a security guard at around 10 p.m., local time. He quickly jumped into the pond in a bid to rescue the baby and recovered the infant from the water. Emergency responders from Horry County Fire Rescue EMS were called in and reached the spot a few minutes later and administered CPR on the baby. However, even after repeated attempts, they were unable to revive the infant.

After police officers reached the spot, they roped off the entire area. They were able to contact a witness who revealed that the baby was seen with a young woman earlier. The witness added that the woman was standing near the pond holding the baby. Following this revelation, police officers issued a BOLO (be-on the-look-out) which was sent out to nearby agencies in a move to track the woman. Several police officers swarmed the area, many on foot, in order to locate the suspect. A canine team was also reportedly involved in the search operation.

Nearly two hours later, Jameish Katara Alexander was involved in a car crash in the area of U.S. 501 and Bill Jones Road in the Aynor section of Horry County. She was finally arrested from near the scene of that crash. Officials add that in the two-hour time frame, she did not bother to report about her missing child or call anyone for help. On further investigation, officers discovered that Alexander had sole custody and control of the baby and was therefore responsible to ensure the child’s well being.

At this time, it is not clear if Alexander intentionally drowned her baby or if it was an accident. Investigators are looking for other clues, including surveillance videos, to find out how the little baby ended up in the pond. Meanwhile, in an interview with the Associated Press, Alexander’s mother and grandmother revealed that she did not show any indication that would lead them to believe that she could harm the boy. They, however, did add that she was “overwhelmed with her first baby, but that she loved her boy.” Alexander’s mom, identified as Sandra Jones, also added that the baby’s father did not support Alexander and that he was abusive. Jameish Katara Alexander was also reportedly under medication and suffered from depression.

Of late, there seems to have been an unusual spike in the number of child deaths being reported. Just a few days ago, the Inquisitr had reported about the tragic death of 2-year-old baby Ariana, who was allegedly raped and later killed by her mother’s boyfriend. Following that incident, the Inquisitr also reported about a 9-month-old infant that was found abandoned inside a trash compactor outside an apartment in Kansas. Luckily, in the second incident, the baby was rescued before anything happened to her. In yet another case, a young boy, just 3 years old, was found dead inside a hot car by his family members.

[Image via Horry County Police Department]

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