A manslaughter and murder charge has been brought against the father of a boy who went missing in the Bronx and whose body was initially thought to have been pulled from the East River on Wednesday.
On Thursday evening, Arius Williams, who is twenty years old, made an appearance in front of a judge in Bronx Criminal Court for the purpose of being arraigned. He had just been charged with custodial inference at the beginning of the entire process.
Due to the fact that the judge assessed him to be a flight risk, he is currently being held without bail.
Authorities have reported that Montrell Williams, a young child of two years old, has not been seen for more than a month.
Allegedly observed on security footage, Arius Williams is said to have thrown his son from a bridge and into the Bronx River, according to the documents filed in the court. Under the terms of a visitation order, the little child was present in his custody.
The disappearance of Montrell Williams has been going on for more than a month.
At this time, the formal identification of the body is still being processed; nevertheless, according to sources, the police believe that the body is indeed that of Montrell Williams.
In the vicinity of Ferry Point Park, the body was found on Wednesday, just after noon, in the water.
A determination on the cause of death is being made by the medical examiner.
As of Monday, the Bronx River has been the focus of the police’s search for Williams. On May 10, he was last seen in Hunts Point with his father. Since then, he had not been seen or heard from.
The mother of the boy reportedly went to family court on May 30 and said that she was unable to contact her son’s father. This information comes from sources within the police department. The claimed altercation that she had with the father on Monday, which caused her to be concerned for her son’s well-being, prompted her to give the authorities another call.
During the time that Montrell’s family was waiting for the body to be officially identified, a vigil was held on a bridge that covered the Bronx River on Wednesday night.
“He’s responsible for this … I want to see him suffer”
His aunt, Alicia Williams, expressed that her heart is torn, and she added, “I just pray right now that he be with peace with God right now.” The boy’s step-grandfather, Leroy Burton, claimed that the family is in utter disbelief.
Additionally, Burton mentioned Arius Williams in his remarks.
“He is having problems. His mental health was a problem. We need to assist him. Ne needs to get a psychological evaluation, that is what he need,” Burton indicated. It’s Arius, yet he wasn’t the one who did it. However, the intellect was not Arius, even though the physical body was.
In an interview with News New York Arius, Burton stated that Williams had a deep affection for his child.
There is no one else to blame but him. The aunt of Arius Williams, Alicia Williams, stated that he is the one accountable for this behavior. “I want to see him suffer like he made the baby suffer, for real, I want to see him suffer like he made the baby suffer.”
NYPD is currently conducting an internal investigation of the case.
In a statement made on Wednesday, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch stated that an internal assessment of the way the issue has been handled is a component of the investigation.
“We are looking into the initial reports to the police department and of the missing child and how those were handled, but I want to be very clear: The NYPD takes any case of a missing person very seriously,” said Tisch in an interview.
Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Kaz Daughtry stated that this involves conducting an investigation into what appears to be a lapse in the process of making the child’s photograph available to the general public.
