Derrick Woods
A California man has been accused of killing his girlfriend’s 1-year-old daughter, who police say they found dead Monday at a motel. Derrick Woods, 43, was arrested after a manhunt, according to the West Sacramento Police Department.
The incident occurred at Silvey’s Motel. Cops said they were dispatched to look into a welfare check report. There, they found a 1-year-old child dead. They did not precisely explain how she died, or any alleged motive behind it. They simply said she died from “traumatic injuries,” and that this was a homicide case.
This sparked a manhunt for Woods, who was allegedly seen leaving the area on foot. That search ended Tuesday. West Sacramento police said they arrested him at a Sacramento residence with the help of Yolo County District Attorney’s investigators, and local cops.
Loved ones identified the child as Amanda Marie Owens.
“She was a angel,” her father Dion Owens told ABC 10. “That’s my angel.”
Friends of Amanda’s mother described Woods as the mother’s boyfriend. Dion Owens said he was in the middle of a custody dispute with the mother at the time of the baby’s death.
Community activist Berry Accius said he had been in touch with the child’s mother.
“Frantic,” he told Fox 40. “I mean, she was screaming, ‘My baby’s dead, my baby’s dead.'”
Amanda’s 3-year-old brother is also said to have been found injured, and was taken to a hospital.
Woods’ criminal history includes a 1996 no contest plea in a child abuse case, as well as charges in 2011 for domestic battery and brandishing a weapon, according to CBS Sacramento. It is unclear if he has an attorney in this matter.
[Image via West Sacramento Police Department]