Missing Missouri Baby: Tyler Dasher's Mother Arrested in Homicide Case
Police arrested the mother of a 13-month-old boy a day after the child was found dead near a suburban St. Louis, Mo., cemetery.
Shelby Dasher, 20, was arrested in connection to her son Tyler Daniel Dasher's death. It is unclear what charges she will face.
Police have 24-hours to build a case and file charges before Dasher must be released, according to reports.
The toddler was reported missing Tuesday morning when Dasher woke up to find the child missing from his crib in their Affton, Mo., home.
The mother reportedly went to bed at 10:30 p.m. on Monday and discovered the disappearance when she woke up at 11 a.m. on Tuesday.
The boy's body was discovered a few hours later by people walking their dog near the cemetery, St. Louis County Police Chief Tim Fitch said at a press conference.
It is unclear how the boy died, but police have ruled it a homicide, according to reports. A motive for the killing was not immediately clear.
The boy's body was found in a wooded area within 100 feet of a main road.
"Anybody that would take a child and leave a child in a wooded area in that condition needs to be dealt with severely by the criminal justice system." Fitch said.
The boy's 24-year-old father, Joe Ellington, and Dasher were cooperating with the police during the short investigation, The Associated Press reported.
Police officials said there was no sign of forced-entry at Dasher’s home, but that Dasher killed her son after becoming "very, very angry," according to a StlToday.com report.
It is unclear what sparked the apparent wrath that led the killing of the boy.
Police said earlier reports of a man walking with a child wrapped in a blanket one mile from the Dasher’s home were unrelated to the case.