Inset, top to bottom: Kahleb Rowan Collins (Alabama Law Enforcement Agency) and Wendy Pamela Bailey (Fayette County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Investigators searching for Kahleb (WBRC).
A 22-year-old mother in Alabama is accused of killing her 1-year-old son, who is now presumed dead after being missing for several months — though he was only reported missing a few weeks ago.
Wendy Pamela Bailey was taken into custody on Monday and charged with one count each of aggravated child abuse, first-degree domestic violence, and abuse of a corpse in the presumed death of young Kahleb Rowan Collins, authorities announced.
Bailey is also facing an additional count of criminally negligent homicide in connection to the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Ryleigh Collins, who authorities say was unrestrained in the backseat of a car being driven by her father, and in which Bailey was a passenger, that was involved in a fatal crash one day before Kahleb was reported missing, the District Attorney’s Office for the 24th Judicial Circuit of Alabama said.
“This investigation has been particularly challenging as it involved the tragic deaths of two young children,” District Attorney Andy Hamlin said in a statement. “I want to commend the efforts and cooperation shown by every agency involved: the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, Alabama Bureau of Investigation and the Alabama State Troopers.”
Hamlin added, “Now that the charges have been brought, I look forward to getting the case to court to seek justice for these two innocent children.”
According to a press release from the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, the agency on Dec. 8 assisted troopers with the Alabama State Police at the scene of a car accident on County Road 73 and the Glen Allan community. The crash left Ryleigh and her father, 40-year-old Steven Bradley Collins, dead. Bailey was a passenger in the vehicle and was airlifted to UAB Hospital for treatment in critical condition.
A crash report obtained by Birmingham NBC affiliate WVTM stated that Collins was speeding at 92 mph and driving in an aggressive manner on a wet road just before the crash.
In the aftermath of the fatal accident, authorities were notified that Collins and Bailey had “another child that was unaccounted for,” later identified as Kahleb.
Authorities immediately opened an investigation into the boy’s whereabouts, with the sheriff’s office also contacting the 24th Circuit District Attorney’s Office and the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation to assist in the search for the toddler.
“Based on the results of this investigation, it is believed that [Kahleb] is deceased,” an updated press release from the sheriff’s office stated. “His body has not been recovered, although law enforcement teams are still actively gathering information and searching for his remains. Investigators believe Kahleb had been deceased for some time before his disappearance was brought to the attention of law enforcement after the Dec. 8, single-vehicle crash that claimed the lives of his father, [Collins], and 2-year-old sister, [Ryleigh].”
According to a report from Birmingham CBS affiliate WIAT, investigators learned that Kahleb had not been seen alive since Sept. 9. John Bailey, the toddler’s grandfather and legal custodian, was arrested on Dec. 11, and charged with one count of failure to report a missing child.
Anyone with information relevant to the investigation is urged to contact authorities at 205-932-3205.
