GUILTY AR - Malik Drummond, 2, Searcy, 23 Nov 2014 - #2

[Soulmagent]

I am not buying the accidental drowing.

I am thinking more like Nyquil or Zzzquil , all presumption on my part.

 

[chaotic_idealism]

Fear/distrust of police is getting more and more common and not trusting the police might have been foremost in their minds.

I do think they made a conscious or subconscious decision to delay calling the police, for some reason. It couldn't just have been "I'm too busy looking for him", because with a cell phone they could've looked and called at the same time.

Another possibility might be that this boy had the habit of going off on his own when he could--that they'd often found him in the backyard or hidden in the house before, and grown used to looking for him, and called the police only when they realized this was more serious than the usual.

I get this feeling like the whole picture is just too odd to even begin to rule out the possibility of foul play--but at the same time, there's just not enough evidence to accuse anyone or even claim that a homicide or kidnapping has taken place at all. It's infuriating.

One thing that keeps coming back to me is just how small a two-and-a-half-year-old is. On average they weigh about thirty pounds. It would be easy to hide a child that small, hard to find one. Thirty pounds is the size of a cocker spaniel or two big tomcats. It's not like hiding a grown person. Whether it's nature and chance hiding a body that size, or whether it's a killer deliberately hiding one, it would be easy to hide and hard to find.

On the other hand, a living child, especially one that age, is noisy and hard to hide. I think if the boy has been kidnapped, then he is somewhere far enough away from home that neighbors who heard a crying child who hadn't lived there before, wouldn't be suspicious enough to call the police. At least several cities away--probably out of the state. They would do well to check (and probably already are checking) the homes of friends and relatives who live farther away.

 

[katydid23]

I am not sure about the accidental drowning. When I try to imagine the scenario, a few things stick out for me. For one, it would have been very noisy when one of the parents came upon the discovery of the child in the tub. I would think there would be screams, noisy panic and chaos at the start. But the neighbors said they heard nothing unusual at the time.

Also, I'd think the sister would have seen what was happening. She would have seen them pull him out of the water and try to save him. So when she was taken to the forensics specialist, I would think she would know about the tub.

I think that if he passed away in the home, it was something that would not have created panic or chaos. JMO

 

[Sunkist]

I don't have anything new to add. Thankful LE is investigating and searching.

We arrived in the Searcy area yesterday. Either today or tomorrow we plan to go take pictures in the various places requested, time a drive to Riverside, etc.

As we drove down Main Street I was trying to look for cameras, as someone else had asked. I noticed cameras of some type on the Main St/Pleasure intersection. I'm sure there were others, I just happened to notice those.

I don't think any of us believe the wandered away story anymore, but I know it was mentioned earlier that maybe he wandered away, was hit by a car, that person panicked and disposed of the body. As we drove through Searcy, we found it nearly impossible to believe someone could do all that without being seen by others. The area Malik lived in isn't a subdivision with little traffic, it is a highly travelled area of town.



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[Sunkist]

On the 911 call, I can see a neighbor being the one to call, but I would have expected to hear a parent/gf in the background breaking down or yelling Malik's name. JMO

While maybe not suspicious, I find it very odd if mom is staying with the neighbor that called 911. Where is the twin? Staying there also? With dad & gf? With another relative?

If you don't believe he wandered away (and mom has said she doesn't) then why be right there? To watch dad?

Were mom & neighbor good friends before? Raises more possibilities.

So many possibilities in this case, most of them very bad for Malik.


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[Writerofwrongs]

I am leaning towards an accidental drowning in the bath, my mind just can't get past that bath and why she was bathing a child when dinner was on...it is the most chaotic time of day when you have toddlers who are hungry....to throw a bath into the mix strikes me as odd. I think she ran the bath, came to check on dinner and found Malik when she returned to the bathroom. She was probably shocked into silence, her mind would of been racing as well. I mean, she would of worried about losing her remaining children to CPS, she would of been worried about losing her partner, she would of been worried that her actions would of resulted in him not being allowed access to Malik's twin. I think hiding the accident was her get out of jail free card....literally.

A 2 year old is, as someone said up thread, about as big as a cocker spaniel....easy enough to put in a back pack to dispose of. Do they have a car? driving to the Red River (4 miles away) to dump the bag would of taken ten minutes...tops. She could of been there and back before her partner even woke up. This is all pure speculation on my part of course, I am interested in the 'tip' LE received regarding the river, which made them search it so thoroughly. Maybe someone saw her leave in a car before Malik was reported as gone, or maybe they have found debris (leaves, soil etc) on the GF's shoes or tires of a car.

I would seriously love this to have a happy ending. For little Malik to be found and share Christmas with his twin. Hope is fading fast though, I am just hoping, no matter what, he is found - so we all get to know his story and see justice for him.

 

[alreetlike]

With the accidental drowning theory - which I agree is a possibility, by the way - if that was to be the case I'd be amazed at the idea of covering up an accident by creating a scenario which is certain to involve far more investigation and exposure to media, etc.

 

[SCHMAE]

I'm very discouraged that things are getting quiet with Malik. How many babies will we see this happen with ?

 

[skibaboo]

On the 911 call, I can see a neighbor being the one to call, but I would have expected to hear a parent/gf in the background breaking down or yelling Malik's name. JMO

While maybe not suspicious, I find it very odd if mom is staying with the neighbor that called 911. Where is the twin? Staying there also? With dad & gf? With another relative?

If you don't believe he wandered away (and mom has said she doesn't) then why be right there? To watch dad?

Were mom & neighbor good friends before? Raises more possibilities.

So many possibilities in this case, most of them very bad for Malik.


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BBM - In the video interview with Mom Video here (at the neighbours) Twin is there with her, so presumably she is with Mom staying at the neighbours.

 

[Soulmagent]

BBM - In the video interview with Mom Video here (at the neighbours) Twin is there with her, so presumably she is with Mom staying at the neighbours.

If there was one part of me that thought my baby could have been taken by someone out of dads house ,there is no way I would be keeping my baby right there and knowing everyone with interest in Malik would know where that was. I would worry they would come after my other baby.

I guess mom believes something else happened to Malik.

 

[MsMarple]

I have some doubts about the hypothetical, speculation only theory of an accidental bathtub drowning. I did a little research and found that the numbers are pretty low, especially for children older than 15 months.

Different reports from different years cite different numbers but overall those numbers are low compared to drownings in swimming pools, spas or lakes and rivers. (And for now I'm eliminating that Malik walked ~ 4 miles undetected to the Little Red River).

Given Malik's age of approximately two and a half years I question the likelihood that he drowned in the bathtub. Hypothetically speaking, in Malik's case we'd be looking at a scenario where he slipped under the water and stayed there long enough to drown without any attempt to pull himself up. The only way I can see that happening is if he fell and hit his head hard enough to daze or knock him out.

Anyway, here's one report on unintentional bathtub incidents covering a 5-year period. There were 434 fatalities. Here's a breakdown by age:

The bath/bathing category involved scenarios where the victim was being bathed or was in a bath-type product(s). This category has the largest number of reported incidents (555 incidents, 81 percent).

Similarly, of the 434 total fatalities and the 233 total injuries, the largest number of fatalities (348 incidents, 80 percent) and injuries (193 incidents, 83 percent) are associated with bath/bathing. The bath/bathing incidents most frequently involved children younger than 12 months old (289 incidents; 52 percent). An additional 182 incidents (33 percent) involved children between the ages of 12 months and 23 months old.

http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Newsroom/New...400-deaths-estimated-over-a-five-year-period/

All speculation and MOO.

 

[StormyNights]

I thought of the accidental drowning as well. I am 50/50 with it now. If it was truly an accident why wouldn't they call 911? Try CPR? Why would they cover it up? I understand GF's had child/ren taken away. Maybe she thought she lose the other child as well. I just don't know why dad would go along with this though. I am stopping short on that. What reason would he have for keeping his mouth shut and disposing of his son's body somewhere? So, did a punishment maybe go too far? Did dad maybe hit him harder than he thought? At this point I am just not sure anymore. So many things could of happened. I just want this sweet little man to be found!!

MOO

 

[FindHG]

I have some doubts about the hypothetical, speculation only theory of an accidental bathtub drowning. I did a little research and found that the numbers are pretty low, especially for children older than 15 months.

Different reports from different years cite different numbers but overall those numbers are low compared to drownings in swimming pools, spas or lakes and rivers. (And for now I'm eliminating that Malik walked ~ 4 miles undetected to the Little Red River).

Given Malik's age of approximately two and a half years I question the likelihood that he drowned in the bathtub. Hypothetically speaking, in Malik's case we'd be looking at a scenario where he slipped under the water and stayed there long enough to drown without any attempt to pull himself up. The only way I can see that happening is if he fell and hit his head hard enough to daze or knock him out.

Anyway, here's one report on unintentional bathtub incidents covering a 5-year period. There were 434 fatalities. Here's a breakdown by age:



http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Newsroom/New...400-deaths-estimated-over-a-five-year-period/

All speculation and MOO.

Thank you MsMarple for the great info and thinking this through. Kids do plunge into bathtubs and get bloody lips sometimes hitting the edge, that I know of, and adults too have hit the bottoms of pools in the dark and knocked themselves out. It's a good rule to never swim alone in unfamiliar places.

Still, his twin sister who was not being bathed was said to have been with little Malik Drummond, as LM was said to have been bathing her own daughter, while Dad dozed and dinner cooked. The twin sister, she was also said by somebody to have pointed towards the door. Then the neighbor calls seeing or hearing the Dad and LM looking. She mentions the the "two and half year old" little boy has been missing for "45" minutes, does she mean when he was last seen or how long the Dad and LM have been looking for him? Where does that time statement information come from the neighbor? What is is based on? It would seem to me 'when was the last time you saw him?' would be a natural question to ask the Dad and LM along with what was he wearing, which the neighbor didn't know at that point or had it been 45 minutes that the neighbor was aware the family had been searching? I'm a little more confused now about the timing.

 

[MsMarple]

Thank you MsMarple for the great info and thinking this through. Kids do plunge into bathtubs and get bloody lips sometimes hitting the edge, that I know of, and adults too have hit the bottoms of pools in the dark and knocked themselves out. It's a good rule to never swim alone in unfamiliar places.

Still, his twin sister who was not being bathed was said to have been with little Malik Drummond, as LM was said to have been bathing her own daughter, while Dad dozed and dinner cooked. The twin sister, she was also said by somebody to have pointed towards the door. Then the neighbor calls seeing or hearing the Dad and LM looking. She mentions the the "two and half year old" little boy has been missing for "45" minutes, does she mean when he was last seen or how long the Dad and LM have been looking for him? Where does that time statement information come from the neighbor? What is is based on? It would seem to me 'when was the last time you saw him?' would be a natural question to ask the Dad and LM along with what was he wearing, which the neighbor didn't know at that point or had it been 45 minutes that the neighbor was aware the family had been searching? I'm a little more confused now about the timing.

Thanks for clarifying what was actually reported to the police! I should have done so myself since rumors are running through the thread. My post was referring to posters who are speculating that the story given to LE was false and that Malik may have instead drowned in the tub. It's good to see a fellow fact-checker onboard!

As for the timing, that's caught some attention too. According to the first (and I think only) LE press conference, Chief Clark stated that police were called at 6:30 pm.

The adults reported that the dad was sleeping somewhere and the last time the g/f saw Malik (and his sister) was at 5:45 in the livingroom. Chief Clark reported that for the next 30 minutes or so (~ 5:45 to 6:15) the twins were alone and neither adult saw them. When the g/f returned to the livingroom (~ 6:15) and found him missing both she and dad then searched for about 15 minutes before calling 911 (by way of having the neighbor place the call, which was not reported until a couple of days ago).

I found it a little odd that Clark added the comment on his own during the Q & A. Also interesting that the neighbor stated the same amount of time. It makes me think she had spoken to one of the adults before calling 911 otherwise how could she have known the time frame? Why didn't one of them call?

Here's a recap of (part of) that press conference for anyone coming in late - the video link is now dead so I removed it:

The November 24 police press conference:

What Clark said around 9:14 (the video counts down):

“Well, the parents were both home and one was sleeping and another was taking care of a baby (inaudible, possibly “in like”) a bath. And the child, uh is a twin and the two twins were in the livingroom area and when they returned, the child was gone.”

Asked if Malik had been seen by any neighbors Clark replied that police had gone door to door and hadn't found anyone who saw Malik outside at all. He later reiterated that the last time Malik was seen was 5:45 by the “stepmother.”

When asked if Malik lived with dad permanently, Clark said:

“Well, the biological mother and the father, the way I understand it, you know, shared custody of the child. The child was there with his father and stepmother.”

Reporter: Could have been a weekend thing perhaps?

Clark: Possibly. I think he'd been staying there for a couple of weeks.

Another comment from Clark:

“I think in the um...the gap in time between missing and us contacted includes the time that the parent was out of the room, which was probably about 30 minutes, (inaudible) what's been reported to us.”


Please note that during this conference the chief said Malik was autistic. Several days later LE announced that they discovered that Malik was never diagnosed or even tested for autism. The claim came from family members and apparently was only a personal opinion.

 

[MsMarple]

NG posted the 911 call, along with a short blurb. Nothing new but at least Malik's case is getting a little bit of exposure. Funny how she's so far behind us on the latest news.

http://www.hlntv.com/video/2014/12/11/malik-drummond-missing-911-call-searcy-arkansas?hpt=ju_bn4

 

[FindHG]

Thanks for clarifying what was actually reported to the police! I should have done so myself since rumors are running through the thread. My post was referring to posters who are speculating that the story given to LE was false and that Malik may have instead drowned in the tub. It's good to see a fellow fact-checker onboard!

As for the timing, that's caught some attention too. According to the first (and I think only) LE press conference, Chief Clark stated that police were called at 6:30 pm.

The adults reported that the dad was sleeping somewhere and the last time the g/f saw Malik (and his sister) was at 5:45 in the livingroom. Chief Clark reported that for the next 30 minutes or so (~ 5:45 to 6:15) the twins were alone and neither adult saw them. When the g/f returned to the livingroom (~ 6:15) and found him missing both she and dad then searched for about 15 minutes before calling 911 (by way of having the neighbor place the call, which was not reported until a couple of days ago).

I found it a little odd that Clark added the comment on his own during the Q & A. Also interesting that the neighbor stated the same amount of time. It makes me think she had spoken to one of the adults before calling 911 otherwise how could she have known the time frame? Why didn't one of them call?

Here's a recap of (part of) that press conference for anyone coming in late - the video link is now dead so I removed it:

Okay, MsMarple, thank you for this. Sorry to ask again, and thanks for the NG news too. The confusion on the initial few minutes of the parents realizing he's missing in the house, then looking outside, the neighbor reporting it to LE and who was called when by whom, such as the biomom, the grandparents, the uncle, it just still sticks in my craw. I keep falling into this trajectory of thinking the Dad and LM were reaching out for support more than raising an alarm to find little Malik. I've tried to disabuse myself of the notion but it keeps coming back.

 

[katydid23]

I have some doubts about the hypothetical, speculation only theory of an accidental bathtub drowning. I did a little research and found that the numbers are pretty low, especially for children older than 15 months.

Different reports from different years cite different numbers but overall those numbers are low compared to drownings in swimming pools, spas or lakes and rivers. (And for now I'm eliminating that Malik walked ~ 4 miles undetected to the Little Red River).

Given Malik's age of approximately two and a half years I question the likelihood that he drowned in the bathtub. Hypothetically speaking, in Malik's case we'd be looking at a scenario where he slipped under the water and stayed there long enough to drown without any attempt to pull himself up. The only way I can see that happening is if he fell and hit his head hard enough to daze or knock him out.

Anyway, here's one report on unintentional bathtub incidents covering a 5-year period. There were 434 fatalities. Here's a breakdown by age:



http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Newsroom/New...400-deaths-estimated-over-a-five-year-period/

All speculation and MOO.

THANK YOU. I have been struggling with this same 'age' question. How often does a two and a half year old drown in a bathtub? The only way I could imagine it is if he hit his head. But where would SM be all of this time? IDK

 

[MsMarple]

Okay, MsMarple, thank you for this. Sorry to ask again, and thanks for the NG news too. The confusion on the initial few minutes of the parents realizing he's missing in the house, then looking outside, the neighbor reporting it to LE and who was called when by whom, such as the biomom, the grandparents, the uncle, it just still sticks in my craw. I keep falling into this trajectory of thinking the Dad and LM were reaching out for support more than raising an alarm to find little Malik. I've tried to disabuse myself of the notion but it keeps coming back.

I hear ya! And while 15 minutes is statistically ideal - unfortunately most caregivers delay way too long - it just seems to me that an awful lot occurred in a very short period of time. Waking dad (I assume), asking the sister where Malik was, searching inside and out, alerting neighbors. I'm not sure when they called the bio mom, maybe after the 911 call?

Anyway, it just feels like a lot of activity for a 15-minute span, but apparently that's how they reported it. Support - interesting notion... IYKWIM.

 

[StormyNights]

Has it been said if dad and gf had phones? Land line or cell? If they didn't have access to phones then it would make a whole lot of sense for them to ask the neighbor to call. I was just trying to come up with a logical reason the neighbor would call instead of dad or gf. Only thing I can come up with.

 

[Hraefn]

Speculation only, I have no evidence for this theory: I wonder if instead of an accidental drowning it could have been something more reckless and incriminating, such as Malik accidentally consuming drugs? I have not spent much time around children, is 2.5 years an age where kids would put small or strange substances in their mouths? What if they saw a caregiver do it; is 2.5 an age of mimicking parents' actions? Just a theory that in my mind would explain an accident situation turned into a cover up situation. I would think if a child in your care died from exposure to narcotics it would come with serious charges and time regardless of it being an accident. *purely speculation*