Foster mom charged with murder of missing 10-year-old girl: FULL PRESSER

Good afternoon. Is everybody ready? Good afternoon. This press conference has been called to provide information in relation to charging of Caprice Williams, date of birth, May 15th, 1990, a foster parent in the homicide of a 10-year-old girl. Her name was Malaysia Alford. There was some reporting previously that she went by Malaysia. That's incorrect. Her name was Malaysia Alford. In a moment we will get into the specifics, but I have to tell you I'm surrounded by people who've done as much as they possibly could to make a horrific situation a little better and to try to bring us to a place where there will be accountability, there will be justice, there will be support for the family of Malaysia. That family is here, they are with us, they are carrying a huge weight, as I'm sure you can sense, at the end of presentations by various speakers. We will do Q&A, question and answer, but it will be on this topic. And out of respect for this family, it will not be on any other topic. Let me be clear about that. I do want to acknowledge some of the excellent detective work, police work that has been done by law enforcement partners, including the Philadelphia Police Department, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including other law enforcement in New Jersey. I want to acknowledge that. We'll get into the details. And I also want to acknowledge some excellent work that has been done by people inside and outside of this office to try to support and protect this family as best they could at this time. This is a very, very heavy, emotional day for a lot of us, regardless of whether we are elected officials, law enforcement, faith leaders, victims, advocates, and some of all of those groups are here. I want to be very clear that there will be a just and there will be a vigorous prosecution in this case. That more details will be available as we move forward. That details that are provided at this time are appropriate, correct, and corroborated. To provide at this time, details that are not provided are details that might impact the integrity of the investigation, the integrity of the prosecution, or that are not sufficiently confirmed at this time. But there will be more information that will be coming forward. I want to acknowledge some of the folks who are here. We have with us Reverend Dr. Alan E. Waller, senior pastor of the Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, who will speak. We have with us representatives from the office of Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, who has by the way released a statement in relation to this incident and who has been in contact not only with me but also with the commissioner and others in relation to this. Awful case. We have with us Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel, who will speak. We have Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Wayne Jacobs. That would be Special Agent in Charge, Wayne Jacobs, with us. We have Council Member Curtis Jones, Jr. of the 4th District, State Representative Morgan Cephas of the 192nd Legislative District. And we have personnel from the DA's office, some of whom have been losing a lot of sleep over this, as they often do. The one I guess losing the most sleep is ADA Ashley Teslowski, who at all hours, as usual, does what she needs to do. We also have ADA Jeff Hujanowski, who is the chief of the DAO's Homicide and Non-Fatal Shooting Unit. ADA Christian Wynn, who is an assistant chief in the DAO's Homicide and Non-Fatal Shooting Unit. Tenia Leonard is here. She is the director of the DAO's CARES Unit. That, of course, is the unit that does crisis assistance, response, and engagement for survivors in cases like these. We have Mariel De La Cruz, who is the director of the DAO's Victim Services Unit, and Donna Woods, who is the director of the DAO's Relocation Unit. We will be calling up several speakers. Some of them will be coming up together. Some will not. But so that you are aware and so that I don't have to keep standing up and slowing down or cutting into their time. First, we will hear from Pastor Waller. Then ADA Ashley Teslowski will explain certain aspects of the charges and things relating to the case. Police Commissioner Bethel will come up third, followed by Special Agent in Charge Wayne Jacobs. We will hear from elected officials, Councilmember Jones and Representative Cephas, who will stand together and will both speak. We will then have, from this office, within the victim services space, Tania Leonard, Mariel Delacruz, Donna Woods come up together. It's my understanding that Tania Leonard will speak on their behalf. And we will go from there. I'll have a couple more things to say. We will go to question and answer. And we will try to do this in a way that is most respectful and least difficult for a family that's been through a lot. Good evening. My name is Alan Waller, senior pastor of the Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church. I'm here because hurt is here. There are no words that can make sense out of nonsense. But we are here to commend to the family to know that as a community, we come together to love on you. All of us want to seek for justice, but we also are reminded by Malaysia that there are other Malaysians out there. This is a time to call all of us to community and to remember what really, really matters. Maybe in the context of all of the celebration that's been going on over the last couple of days, this is a stark reminder that there's a whole lot of work for us to do. We are judged by how the children of our community fare. It does not matter what our economics, what our politics, the question is, how are the children? Until we can say the children are fine, we're not fine. But we're here also because I believe that this is a moment where we all need to be reminded there is a God. Some would question what kind of God allows this. But there is a God that's going to help us at some point make sense out of it, but it's going to take all of us to be community. We stand in solidarity with all of those who will work towards justice. but more importantly who will work to make sure that not only is there justice for Malaysia but that this does not happen again to someone else. Thank you for your concern today. Let's keep our concern when it is no longer a part of the news cycle. Good evening. As the DA said, my name is Ashley Teslowski. I'm one of the district attorneys in the Homicide Non-Fatal Shooting Unit that's been working on this case and I'm here to provide some details in terms of the factual basis that that brought us here today. I want to reiterate this is still a very active investigation. However, the following facts are R word, R, R. what is enabling us at this point to charge the defendant. The investigation at this point has indicated that the last time the decedent, who I know often was referred to as May, Malaysia, the last time we believe she was seen alive was Thursday, October 22nd, and that would be at her home. We believe she remained there. Until she was removed from the home yesterday, law enforcement officials from the FBI, PPD discovered or recovered, I should say, video surveillance that shows in the early morning hours of Monday, which would be October 26, approximately 1:53 a.m. There was video that shows what we believe to be her body being moved out of the home. It was that video that then led law enforcement officials to a suspect vehicle. which then led law enforcement officials to find that vehicle and find a person that they wanted to speak to related to that vehicle. It is that individual that was then interviewed by members of the FBI as well as then PPD that then ultimately led law enforcement officials to her body in the early or I'm sorry in the evening of last night around 11 p.m is when law enforcement officials were able to locate her in the trunk of a vehicle in New Jersey. And it was immediately apparent that she had been there for a while. Again, obviously a lot of this is still a fluid situation, but what we can at this point say is that she was taken to the New Jersey Medical Examiner's Office, a preliminary post-mortem examination was performed, and at this point the initial cause of death is blunt force trauma, and the manner of death has been ruled a homicide. As a result of what this witness led us to, what this witness said to law enforcement officials, and now what we know to be the fact that she was murdered, we are bringing the following charges which have been approved today against Caprice Williams. It's going to be murder generally, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal use of a communication facility, possession of an instrument of crime, recklessly endangering another person, tampering with evidence, An abuse of a corpse. Good evening. First and foremost, Pastor Wiley, I want to thank you for your words. They resonate. And to the family, my deepest condolence to all of you. I can only imagine. From the onset, I've been engaged with the mayor and sharing with her team. She put out a statement earlier today, and I won't read the statement in its entirety, but she said no words can I employ to remove the unimaginable pain and suffering of May's family. She went on early to say, you know, as the mother of her child, she was shaken to the core. And so but she also gave us in my charge throughout this process to make sure we brought the individual who took me away to justice. These are difficult as a DA indicated and past a while. These are difficult. Next year will be 40 years for me. I've seen so much in my career. But when a child is taken from us, it's just hard to imagine that happening. She deserved safety. She deserved to be loved. She deserved a chance to grow up. And so when Pastor Waller talks about the purpose, I want to also remember that our duty is to make sure that we protect our children. Our duty is to take and make sure that we watch upon our children. I want to personally thank Special Agent-in-Charge Wayne Jacobs, who stands to my right. We have developed an amazing and incredible relationship with our federal colleagues, in particular the FBI. When we began this process, Commissioner Ben-Nur and our team quickly recognized that we needed support Because our goal is... From the very beginning is we want to bring May home safely, and that was our goal from the very beginning. Not only did he employ his team, but he also brought his child abduction rapid deployment team, which he'll probably discuss. And so I just want to share with you my deep gratitude for your commitment to the men and women of this department, but most importantly, the community we serve. I also want to recognize the special victims who was here to support this investigation. Captain Bootser from Southwest Detectives who did an incredible job with his team from the very beginning. The captain recognized something is wrong and made sure that we were working diligently to try to bring May home. The shooting investigation group, our homicide team, Ashley who's been with us at our side from the very beginning. We're so, and her team, we're so appreciative of that. A New Jersey State Trooper and the Lindenwald Police Department. But to everyone who has worked this case, I just want to say how deeply we appreciate the support of your efforts. Finding May does not end with our responsibilities here. We must continue to pursue the truth. We will continue to do the investigation so that we bring the individuals responsible for this to justice. I would ask all of us, Pastor Waller, he's the pastor here, so I won't get in his lane. But I think we all need to pray for this family. Moving forward in this city that we work diligently not to make have this let this happen again. I appreciate the DA for the for the opportunity to be here and the partnership to bring this person to bear. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Wayne Jacobson, special agent in charge of FBI Philadelphia. There are a few things more heartbreaking than a loss of a child. A young life filled with promise, possibilities, and a future that should have been hers to experience. To lose a child under circumstances like these in a place where she should have been safe. is almost impossible to comprehend. Today our hearts are with Malaysia's family, her loved ones and everyone who knew and cared for her, We're especially mindful of her young friends and classmates who are now trying to make sense of something no child should ever have to understand. They will have questions for which there are simply no good answers. I want to recognize the extraordinary work of the women and men who worked tirelessly to experience, and uncover what happened. Over the course of this investigation, We witnessed some of the very best of law enforcement, Both the FBI's violent crime and crimes against children task forces working shoulder to shoulder with our partners at the Philadelphia Police Department brought an extraordinary level of commitment, persistence, and investigative expertise to this case. This was an around-the-clock effort drawing on the full range of the FBI's investigative capabilities. Our agents, task force officers, and PPD detectives conducted extensive neighborhood canvases, Pursued leads and spent countless hours interviewing witnesses, our analysts, investigators, and professional staff worked tirelessly reviewing and exploiting digital evidence, identifying connections, and helping piece together what happened to you. We also leveraged specialized expertise in the FBI's Child Abduction Rapid Deployment, or CARD, team, our Behavioral Analysis Unit, our Cellular Analysis Survey Team, also known as CAST, and our Victim Services Personnel, Each brought unique capabilities to an investigation where every piece of information mattered. I also want to specifically recognize our law enforcement partners from the Camden County Prosecutor's Office and the Lower Merion Police Department. Throughout this investigation, these departments answered every call and met every request, often on extremely short notice. Whether securing critical evidence, providing personnel or resources, Supporting time-sensitive investigative needs, they never hesitated, Their responsiveness and willingness to do whatever was needed were instrumental to this effort. To the people of Philadelphia, particularly the residents of neighborhoods where our teams worked, thank you. You answered our knocks on your doors, you shared information, provided surveillance video, and helped our investigators reconstruct critical pieces of information. Every tip mattered and your willingness to help made a difference. To the members of our task forces, our analysts, investigators, professional staff, specialized teams, And every law enforcement partner who contributed to this effort, I want to express my deepest appreciation. I know how personally invested so many of you became in finding Malaysia. I know the hours you put in, the sacrifices you made, the emotional weight you carried throughout this investigation. What we witnessed was some of the finest work law enforcement has to offer, not because of how this investigation ended, but because of the partnership, persistence, dedication, and sense of service demonstrated by everyone involved. No one lost sight of who this investigation was about, a 10-year-old girl whose life mattered, whose family deserved answers, and whose story deserved to be told. While today's developments bring us closer to an understanding of what happened, our work is not finished. We remain committed to pursuing the truth, supporting those affected, and ensuring this investigation is carried through with the same care and determination that brought us to this point. Despite my promise not to come back up, I have a reason to come back up, and that is that We were hoping State Senator Vince Hughes would be able to join us in addition to Councilmember Jones and Representative Cephas. He has been able to join us and I want to acknowledge that. All three of these elected officials have done an awful lot for public safety and for criminal justice in Philadelphia among many other things and I want to invite them all to come forward and if they choose to speak, to speak. I stand here with my colleagues who work every day to try to strengthen security and public safety in our neighborhoods. But on days like this, we don't feel safe. We don't feel protected. We feel the loss that this family has. On behalf of her classmates at the Cassidy School, she will be missed. On her friends on Simpson Street, she will be missed. But what we say today here before you is she won't be forgotten. That we will work with our law enforcement partners to prevent this ever happening again. Every child deserves to feel safe in their neighborhood and in particular their home. All too often, we don't achieve that. But each and every time this happens, we will work harder. Whether it's cameras, whether it's town watch, whether it's the kinds of things we do, getting people to and from school, we will do that every 7 a.m. Know this, that the principal of your school is on a call with us, talk about how we can make it better. So we will continue that effort in your daughter's name. And so we join you in your grief. Thank you. Sorry. Hearts and minds and thoughts and prayers, those are important, but it's the work we do after this happens, after we're done this press conference, that will matter the most. Thank you. Today is absolutely a sad day. I'm absolutely sorry for your loss and that the community, her friends, her classmates will forever remember her. And we know that a precious life was cut so short. And each one of those friends of hers are now asking the question, where is she? But also, is it a possibility that I'm next? And it's important in these moments to not only cherish her life and mourn her loss, but ensure that this never happens again. Because we all have a Malaysia. We all have a daughter. We all have a cousin. We all have a niece. We all have someone as young as Malaysia that we care for. And it would be... Unimaginable to have to go through what you are going through. So know that my heart is with you, not just today, not just at this press conference, but moving forward, we are going to heal together in this moment. And I want to thank the FBI, I want to thank the district attorney, I want to thank the police department for finding her. Because for far too often... Our Black little girls aren't found, and they're not cared for. Not seen, but they saw her today. So again, we stand with you again, not just today, but moving forward, we are going to heal through this together. And I just want to thank you for being here. I would just add, I would piggyback on my friend, Pastor Waller's comments. A 10-year-old life matters. A 10-year-old matters until we look through all of our work from the vantage point of our young people, of our children. We are going to miss the mark. A 10-year-old matters. And everything that we have to do, everything we have to structure, everything we have to construct to make sure that we don't just say it, but that we prove it by our work, then we're going to miss the mark. 10-year-old lives matter. And we've got to prove that by the work that we do so that this does not happen again, so that the circumstances and the conditions don't exist, so this would happen again and again and can't. We're better than this. We're better than this. This family doesn't need to be grieving like this. But we've got to double down from our vantage point to make sure that if we say a 10-year-old's life matters, that we in fact prove it by the work that we put in place. I thank you for everybody who's come together to surround this family, surround this community, and do the work that has been done. But this is about doubling and tripling down. This really, really is. Ten-year-old lives matter, and we've got to prove it. Good evening. I am Tanya Leonard, the director of the CARES unit here at the District Attorney's Office. I'm accompanied by Mariel Dela Cruz and Donna Woods. I want to take an opportunity to kind of walk you through how CARES and The district attorney's office supported this family today because it's important to recognize that healing does happen in community. CARES and the community engagement units canvassed the area surrounding 500 North Simpson Street to provide outreach and identify individuals who may need support and connect with community members around available resources. Our teams then transitioned to Lamberton Elementary School, where they provided additional support and assistance in community with our partners at AVP. The Victim Services Division here, our directors, me, Donna, and Mario, accompanied the homicide detectives as they notified the family of their loss, which included Grandmother Sylvia Brown, Aunt Yolanda Brown, and we also had an opportunity to touch base with Mom. I want to thank you all for allowing us to come into your home in such a hard time. They've been nothing but welcoming when it is probably very, very challenging to trust other people. We're very thankful that we were able to support and we'll continue to do that. We'll stand in the gap for you. We will support you. We'll walk you through the tough days. And as I told you earlier, anything you need, anything, at any time, please, please, please don't hesitate to contact us. We'll be in contact with you. We'll probably get on your nerves. But we're definitely going to make sure that we're in contact with you. We want you to make sure that you feel supported. And as far as the city is concerned, in the event that you are impacted by a homicide related to this or otherwise, please, please, please reach out to us. Our CARES unit can be contacted at 215-685-8019. And we're available and open to assist you as well. But right now, we're standing shoulder to shoulder with the Brown family. There is no obligation on family to attend these events. They only do it if they choose to do it, and they've chosen to do it. There is no obligation to speak. Marquita Brown, who is the aunt of Malaysia Alford, has chosen to speak. She may wish to have family stand with her. She may wish to have family stand with her. And I would ask, once again, we'll get to questions and answers after I say a few more things, but please allow Marquita Brown, Aunt of Malaysia Alford, and any other family who wish to stand with her to speak. I would like to first say, whatever social media is saying about the love of the mother and the father, they loved her. So don't think that... That's how it is, whatever social media is saying. It's not true. They loved her. The mother and father loved her, no matter what. We would like to thank everyone for their citywide search for our precious Malaysian. This has been a very hard time for the family. We appreciate the many prayers and countless hours of searching for our loved one. This is so hard to digest. So in the coming days, we, the family, will appreciate the time, the privacy, to lay our love to rest. Thank you. God bless. Please introduce yourself. Hi, everybody. Thank you all for being here. My name is Nafis Horn. I'm the brother of Nazaire Alford, who is the biological father. I just want everybody to keep my family in their prayers, please, as we go through this difficult time. I'd like to thank the community for supporting us. Because I actually stopped at Simpson Street before I got here and I needed that support. So I thank everybody for supporting me and my family during this difficult time. Keep us in your prayer because it's tough right now. Trying to find my brother, pray for him. It's hard on our family. But like the young lady just said, don't pass judgment. Because if y'all don't know anything, just support us. That's all we need is to support. We don't need the judgment right now. Nobody know anything? If you know us, you know what's going on. Please, please, just support my family with the love that we need. No judgment. Thank you, guys. There is a heaviness to this, I think we all feel, and many of us are people who deal with terrible tragedies all the time. I want to thank everybody here who has carried part of that weight, and I also want to thank the public, because there came a moment when we were looking for help, and there were a lot of people who cared. A lot of people. Who were not in law enforcement, not elected officials, not professionals in this, but there were a lot of people who cared. We need that, and we will need it, I would like to say never again, but we will need it again. So I just want to let the public know how much we truly appreciate that. We will now go to Q&A. I intend to make sure we call on everybody. In an orderly fashion, I would ask respectfully that we confine the questions to this topic. To respect the family and also the subject matter, and also I'd just like to remind those who are behind me, if you are coming up to answer a question, we need to do it on the microphones. Otherwise, your voice will not be heard as it should be heard by the media. Obviously, we respect the media, their role in this, their importance in this, and we want to make sure that they can get their story so they can do that reporting. Channel 3 CBS, Joe Holden. So obviously we're not going to go into detail about all of the injuries that she suffered. That will obviously come to light at a preliminary hearing or a later date. However, we do have an indication that there were instances of abuse happening and that items were used to carry out that abuse. At this early stage, do you have any... Well, you know, when we have all the information we have, we are an open book in trying to allow them to do what any healthy organization does, which is self-correct, try to see what they can do to do better. Every organization should want to do that. I'm not here to judge them, but I am here to say that as more facts become available, as we are in a position to speak more about it, we will be in touch with DHS, and we look forward to speaking to them further about this. All right. Anything else, Mr. Holden? All right. Leland Pinder, Channel 6 ABC. Did I pronounce it right? Yes. Okay. I will answer the final question, which was, do you anticipate anyone else facing charges? That is not a question we're going to answer today. It is a question we will be able to answer in the future. As for the first two questions, I'm going to invite ADA Ashley Tyszlowski and any other law enforcement personnel who would care to answer that question. So as I mentioned earlier, yesterday a video was recovered that indicated her body was moved. Thank you very much. That video led us to, or led law enforcement, I should say, to a suspect vehicle. That vehicle then led us to an individual. That individual is ultimately the witness that assisted in leading us to the body. So that vehicle is linked to that witness. Obviously, we're not going to disclose any witness identities at this time. Several people have been interviewed and have provided information. But in terms of the vehicle you asked for, that's directly related to the witness that then assisted law enforcement in. Directing them to where he believed her body was, which was in New Jersey. Anything else, Mr. Pender? All right, thank you. Channel 10 Telemundo, Valentina Sanchez. We are here to announce the murder of a 10-year-old girl. The police and the FBI discovered her body in the trunk of a New Jersey car. We are announcing charges against the person. Anything else, Ms. Sanchez? Thank you. Channel 10 NBC, Shira Arias. I'm sorry. Hey, how are you? Thank you. Go with someone who might be in fact. Thank you for the question. If you'll just give me an opportunity to see the willingness to answer that question at this point, I'll be right back with you. That is not a detail we're prepared to share at this time, although obviously more information will come out later. Do you have any other questions? Like in a sense, did the system fail her in some kind of way? I believe I know what the answer to this is going to be. However, once again, I want to make sure all of our information is correct and that I'm not overstepping what we should disclose at this point. My apologies for not being able to answer that question at this time either. I'm sure you may understand that forensic work can take time. And certainty is important. It's important that we are correct all the time. That's a question we will be able to answer in the near future, but we cannot answer with certainty today. Of course, let me try one more time. The video showed she was removed from the home in some type of bag. And so that became pertinent to the investigation. It was apparent to law enforcement officials they believed that that was the way she was being removed from the home. And it ended up that that is essentially the way she was recovered in the trunk of the car. All right. Thank you. Channel 29 Fox. All right. I'm having a little trouble reading this handwriting. Is it Darren Timoney? No, I'm sorry. Any problems with her? Any indications of something like this? If there's any history of problems with her, please let us know. That is a question that I think is probably best directed to others, and I say that not to put you off, but it seems to me it's a question probably best directed to the school district. Do you want to do it? Obviously, our investigation is ongoing, but we're not in a position to answer that question right now. Is there anyone else who is in a position to answer that? Not at this time. Are there any other questions? Any other questions? I can tell you that it was not Caprice Williams, and that is all that I can tell you at this time. Was the witness who led you to the suspect? That is a question we cannot answer at this time, and I totally understand why that would be a legitimate line of inquiry, but part of what we have to do when we are conducting an investigation is to protect witnesses, to protect sources of information, to make Make sure that they are in no way Placed in a bad position because of disclosure of their identities. Obviously, in open court proceedings, they are by law much more public and more details come out. But we're not prepared to answer that question at this time. Is there any other question? All right. Thank you. Matt Coughlin, KYW. Did I pronounce it right? Coughlin. Matt Coughlin. One clarification first. Did you get a video of him leaving? Once again, I believe I know the answer. Just let me check and see whether we're in a position to respond. There's two different vehicles. So the information is she was removed from the home and placed in one vehicle and then transferred to the vehicle where she ultimately was recovered. Can you tell us anything about the placement process, what agencies might have been involved in the decision to place her with Mrs. Williams? Do you know anything about that that you can share with us? I cannot tell you anything about that at this time. I mean, I think you are aware the defendant was providing foster care. That, I think you are aware. And there certainly will be more information available about that as we move forward. But that's what we're able to say today. Is there anything else, Mr. Coughlin? I'm just following up on that one, Chris. I've been doing the follow-up. I'm not in a position to answer that at this time. Anything else, sir? All right. Dana Monroe, Philadelphia Inquirer. Once again, let me do my best here, see what we can answer. I can answer part of that. I can answer that the defendant has no criminal record. That much I can answer at this time. Is there any other questions? Yes, I can. Malaysia Alford, M-A-L-A-Y-S-H-I-A, Alford, A-L-F-O-R-D. Anything else? Thank you. Did I miss anyone? If I missed anyone, please let me know. Otherwise, I believe I've completed the list of people who signed up. All right. Thank you very much.