The mother of a missing two-year-old boy who became “hysterical” in her search to find him has been arrested for murder after his body was found in a rubbish bin.
Diaja Smith, 23, was charged after the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department responded to a call Thursday about a report of a missing child.
Officers arrived on the scene and began searching immediately, and at 12:58 a.m. the next day, the two-year-old boy’s body was found dumped in a dumpster in the 1300 block of Lewis Avenue. It was pronounced at the scene by medical personnel.
Police did not release his name in their news release. However, a missing persons pamphlet obtained by FOX5 identifies the boy as Jacoby Robinson Jr.
His mother Diaja is currently detained for open murder and other serious crimes.
Jacoby Robinson (pictured) was found dead in a dumpster in Las Vegas
Pictured: Diaja Smith, 23, in court after being charged with the murder of her son.
The boy’s father, Jacoby Robinson, 24, was also arrested in connection with his son’s murder. He faces two counts of child abuse and will face one count of murder, according to KTNV.
Kelvyn Barnet, who lives near where the boy’s body was found, told the local station that he saw his mother Diaja looking for him before she was arrested.
The mother was hysterical, the viewer said.
“I saw a lady sitting there with her two other children, very hysterical saying ‘someone took my son, someone took my son,'” Barnett said. “Finding out that she was the one who did this is the most shocking aspect of it all.”
He also said the mother told him her son disappeared while she was at the park “and the boy was on the slide and she looked around and the boy was gone.”
The victim’s cause of death has not yet been released by the Clark County Coroner’s Office.
Jacoby Jr.’s parents appeared in court Saturday.
Pictured: Jacoby Robinson Jr, who was found dead last week.
The boy’s father, Jacoby Robinson, 24, was also arrested in connection with his son’s murder. He faces two counts of child abuse and will face one count of murder.
In the photo: The garbage containers where the child’s lifeless body was found.
Prosecutors allege that Robinson was present in the apartment during the horrific beating and whipping of the boy, according to KLAS.
They also claim that Robinson stayed with the boy afterward, even watching him vomit, but only helped clean the vomit from his mouth and nose before the boy went back to sleep.
Prosecutors also said that while Robinson Jr.’s autopsy is ongoing, “very concerning injuries” have been identified throughout the boy’s body, particularly on his genitals, from being whipped with a cord.
The parents are being held without bail. His next court appearance will be June 11.
It is unclear if any of the suspects have pleaded guilty or hired an attorney.
