The father of a 2-year-old boy whose body was discovered this week in New York City’s East River was charged with murder on Wednesday, the police said.
The father, Arius Williams, 20, was the last person known to have been with his son, Montrell Williams, who had been reported missing for a month, the police said.
Mr. Williams was arrested and jailed on Monday after failing to appear last month at a court hearing about the whereabouts of his son, according to Correction Department records.
Mr. Williams, who has been held at the Rikers Island jail complex since his arrest, is due to be arraigned in Bronx Criminal Court later on Thursday. He has been charged with two counts of murder and two counts of manslaughter.
On Wednesday, Police Department divers pulled the boy’s body from the water under the Whitestone Bridge, which connects the Bronx and Queens, the police said. Divers had been searching the waterways in the area for evidence of his body since Monday night.
The cause and manner of the boy’s death are still being investigated, and an autopsy is scheduled for Thursday, according to a spokeswoman for the city medical examiner.
The discovery of Montrell’s body and the charges against Mr. Williams come nearly one month after the boy was last seen by members of his family on the night of May 10, the police said.
Montrell’s death follows the death of another young child, Kyng Davis, a 3-year-old boy whose body was abandoned by his mother and her boyfriend at a hospital in Brooklyn.
No charges have been filed in Kyng’s death. But reporting from The New York Times revealed that the boy was being abused months before he died, and that there were several missed chances, including by law enforcement officials and family members, to intervene.
Maia Coleman is a reporter for The Times covering the New York Police Department and criminal justice in the New York area.
Chelsia Rose Marcius is a criminal justice reporter for The Times, covering the New York Police Department.
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