10-Year-Old Jalayshia Alford Found Dead in New Jersey; Foster Mother Charged

The body of 10‑year‑old Jalayshia “Malayshia” Alford was discovered Wednesday night in the trunk of a vehicle at an apartment complex in Lindenwold, New Jersey.

Alford had been reported missing on Oct. 26, 2026, after she failed to attend school the previous day.

Police said she was last seen alive on Oct. 22 at her home on the 500 block of North Simpson Street in West Philadelphia.

At the time of the discovery, law‑enforcement sources said one person was in custody and being interviewed by homicide detectives, and no arrests or charges had been announced.

Assistant District Attorney Ashley Margaret Toczylowski later announced that Carprice Williams, the child’s foster mother, had been charged with murder, endangering a child and related offenses.

Medical examiners ruled the death a homicide caused by blunt‑force trauma.

The investigation involved the Philadelphia Police Department, the FBI and the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, which had been searching for Alford for more than a week.

Surveillance video from Oct. 26 captured Alford’s body being moved from the home in a bag, and a witness helped locate the vehicle in South Jersey.