A North Carolina man who is accused of killing 3-year-old Mariah Kay Woods is due in court Monday.
Adolphus Earl Kimrey II is charged with first-degree murder and felony child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury in Mariah’s November 2017 death and faces a possible death sentence if convicted.
Kimrey, who was dating Mariah’s mother at the time, is expected in court at 2 p.m.
Mariah was reported missing from her Onslow County home on the morning of Nov. 27, 2017. After hundreds of volunteers searched for her for days, a dive team from Fayetteville found her body in a creek in Pender County, about 30 miles from her home.
An autopsy report shows the 3-year-old was found wrapped in trash bags and a couch cushion cover before her body was tossed into a creek.
According to the autopsy report, her body was inside three plastic garbage bags that were tied up, and those bags were inside a plaid cover to a couch cushion that was zippered closed. A large piece of cement, possibly off a curb, also was inside the cushion cover, the report states.
There were no obvious injuries on Mariah, aside from a bruise near her left eye and some scrapes on her face, according to the autopsy report. There was no evidence she had been sexually assaulted.
Authorities previously said the girl died of chloroform poisoning, which the autopsy confirmed.
Chloroform can be used as an anesthetic in small doses, but it can be toxic in large amounts. Among its other uses, the volatile chemical is used in the production of Teflon and in refrigerants for air conditioners.
Kimrey was initially charged with obstruction of justice and concealing a death. He was the person who reported her missing.
Search warrants in the case indicate that people saw Kimrey load something “bigger than a bookbag” into a van and leave the home he shared with Kristy Woods and her children on the night of Nov. 26.
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