Mom found 350 miles away after welfare check leads to 6-year-old’s body, Alaska cops say
A mom in Alaska was arrested more than 350 miles away from home after her 6-year-old son was found dead during a welfare check, police said.
The 36-year-old woman “admitted to inflicting injuries that led to” the boy’s death and was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder, the Fairbanks Police Department said in a Feb. 8 news release posted to Facebook.
A defense attorney for the mother wasn’t listed in court records the morning of Feb. 10.
McClatchy News is not naming the woman to protect the identity of her other child.
Fairbanks police were called Feb. 7 after someone stopped by the mom’s apartment and discovered her son dead inside, police said. The caller said the woman was a client of hers and she went to check on her because she hadn’t heard from her “for quite some time,” according to police.
The mom wasn’t home and neither was her 5-year-old daughter, police said.
“In an urgent effort to locate (her) and her daughter and ensure their safety, detectives tracked (the mom’s) cell phone and determined she was in the Anchorage area,” police said, adding that tips from the community helped narrow her location.
She and her daughter were found “unharmed,” police said.
However, “as the homicide investigation progressed, evidence pointed to (her) as a suspect in her son’s death. (Anchorage Police Department) homicide detectives interviewed (her), during which she admitted to inflicting injuries that led to (her son’s) death before traveling to Anchorage with her daughter days later,” police said.
The daughter is “safe and in state custody,” police said.
Police are “committed to seeking justice,” Fairbanks Chief Ron Dupee said in the release, calling it “an incredibly tragic and heartbreaking case.”
Fairbanks is about a 360-mile drive north from Anchorage.
This story was originally published February 10, 2025 at 11:26 AM with the headline "Mom found 350 miles away after welfare check leads to 6-year-old’s body, Alaska cops say."
.JPG)