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GEBAR LYNON BYRD JR. has been missing since 03/22/2010 from University City, MO.
Last Known Location Map
The two-year-old Gebar Byrd Jr. and his mother, Yasmin Rodriguez, were reported missing by her family members March 28, 2010 after they became concerned when Rodriguez stopped text messaging her sister several days earlier and didn't stop by the family home with her son over the weekend.
Worries grew when Rodriguez didn't call her mother for her April 1 birthday. On Friday, April 9, the mother's body was found in the Mississippi River by fishermen. The boy, however, still remains missing.
"We always begged my sister to leave him, but she would never leave him. Maybe it was because she loved him and had faith that the relationship was going to get better."
-Guadalupe Rodriguez, Gebar's Aunt
Yasmin and Gebar disappeared in late March. The last place they were seen alive was in University City, where they lived with Gebar's father.
The couple had met about eight years before in college, and moved in together after they started dating. At the end of March 2010, Rodriguez thought he was cheating on her and told a friend she was done with their relationship.
Rodriguez's family said the seven-year relationship between Rodriguez and the boy's father, Gebar Byrd Sr., was tumultuous. Guadalupe Rodriguez said Byrd was physically abusive, citing one time last year when she said he seriously injured Yasmin Rodriguez in a beating. Police were called, but Rodriguez didn't press charges, her sister said.
"I really do want to make sure that I'm able to get in contact with my son cause he does need to be with his father now that his mother is out of the way. I do believe there was some foul play involved. I'm not sure what type but someone came and picked them up. I'm not sure what happened that's all I know."
-Gebar Byrd Sr., Gebar Byrd Jr.'s father
Initially Byrd fully cooperated with police in their investigation, and said he wasn't at the home in the 6600 block of Crest Avenue when his girlfriend and son left. Byrd told police an argument between him and Rodriguez ended with him leaving the the house. When he returned, the boy and his mother were gone. He stated she had done the same thing a year before and had stayed with relatives for a month, so he wasn't concerned about her or their son. Byrd passed three polygraph tests.
Byrd spoke directly to the person responsible for Yasmine's death and to anyone who knows where his son is.
"You really do need to turn yourself in to the police department, for what you did, for the injustification that was done to my fiancée- my lady. That was really really wrong and somebody has to answer for it. Somebody's gonna have to answer for the justice that's gonna be done for that."-Gebar Byrd Sr.
Investigators searched the home after the two were reported missing by her family but they found no signs of a crime. Guadalupe Rodriguez and her family still suspected Byrd knew more than he was telling police about Yasmin's disappearance.
TIME WOULD TELL THEIR HUNCH WAS RIGHT.
"The more time goes by, the more you start realizing that this is really happening. So it's confusing and it's hard, you know." -Miguel Rodriguez, brother of Yasmin Rodriguez
Police searched the waters of the Mississippi River on in hopes of finding a lead in the case of missing 2-year-old Gebar Bryd Jr., after Bryd's mother's body was found in the Mississippi River, but were unable to locate him. Authorities initially stated there was no obvious signs of trauma on Yasmin Rodriguez's body, but on closer examination they discovered a cut on her forehead and bruises on her arms, legs and torso. Gebar Byrd Sr. was eventually charged with two counts of first-degree murder, endangering the welfare of a child and domestic assault. The charges marked the first official acknowledgment that the child, Gebar Byrd Jr., 23 months old, is dead.
Investigators believe Gebar Sr. pushed Rodriguez into the river at Riverview and Spring Garden Drive while she was holding the child in her arms. Rodriguez couldn't swim, something Gebar Sr. was aware of, and both she and their son drowned. Police stated Gebar Sr. had confessed to the crime, after initially claiming he did not know what had happened to the two, then telling police several stories such as Rodriguez had intentionally killed their son and then took her own life by walking into the river holding the toddler and that he tried to save him but she threw the toddler into the water and then he pushed her in afterward.
At his trial his defense argued that his confession had been coerced. The prosecution argued the videotaped statement does not show police coercing him to confess anything, and if Rodriguez had committed suicide, why wouldn't Byrd have told police that from the beginning, instead of denying he knew what had happened?
Byrd, after his arrest, had at first denied knowing what happened, then said Rodriquez walked into the river holding the toddler and that he tried to save them. Then he said Rodriguez threw the child in and he pushed her in after him. A police officer who went to their home in University City on March 28 said Byrd was cooperative, but inside the home he noticed a heavy odor of bleach, water on the floor, a mop bucket, two mops, and a leather jacket soaking in the sink. Defense attorney Brad Kessler noted during cross-examination that Byrd had to move out of the home by the end of the month and could have been cleaning to prepare for the move. University City police detective Shannon Eaton also testified that in a trash bin behind the home, he found a wicker basket, a necklace and a rosary that belonged to Rodriguez.
Medical examiner Phillip Burch testified that there was a cut on Rodriguez's forehead and bruises on the torso, arms, and legs, injuries that likely happened just before or during the time of death.
Under cross-examination by Kessler, Burch agreed that the bruising could have happened if Rodriguez was struck by an object once she was in the water.
Judge Hettenbach, visibly frustrated, referenced Byrd's continued denials saying, "Clearly we are never going to know how Mrs. Rodriguez and her son got put in that cold, dark river." The jury had decided it could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt that he intended to kill the two, resulting in the reduction to second-degree murder.
After trial the jury found him guilty of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment and second-degree domestic assault and the judge handed down a life sentence, the maximum possible sentence for drowning his girlfriend and their toddler son in the Mississippi River. He received seven consecutive years each on charges of involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment and second-degree domestic assault. He is currently serving his sentence out in Potosi Correctional Center.
"You are supposed to put your own life at risk to protect your family; you're not supposed to take the lives of your family. Even animals show this propensity, but you do not." -St. Louis Circuit Judge Bryan Hettenbach
Byrd continued to profess innocence, his brief comments ending with, "Not guilty" despite the fact that most defendants accept responsibility at sentencing in hope of a lesser penalty.
Gebar Sr.'s mother believes her grandson is still alive, because his birth certificate and other documents could not be found after his disappearance. Guadalupe Rodriguez said she believed Byrd had killed her sister and nephew because Yasmin indicated to him that she was tired of how he treated her, however Gebar Jr. has never been found.
NamUs #MP7583
IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
University City Police Department
Phone: (314) 725-2211 Agency Case Number: 10-010263
or
St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department
Phone: (314) 231-1212
Agency Case Number: 10-018828
or
Submit an anonymous tip online
or via the SLMPD mobile app.
It is free to download on the
iOS AppStore and Google Play Marketplace
or contact Crime Stoppers Tip Hotline at
1-866-371-8477 (TIPS)
or
Text STL and your tip to
C-R-I-M-E-S (274637)
Verify active missing status here.
From your desktop see others missing from St. Louis
On mobile click here to return to units
Click here to return to Units from your desktop
Last Known Location Map
The two-year-old Gebar Byrd Jr. and his mother, Yasmin Rodriguez, were reported missing by her family members March 28, 2010 after they became concerned when Rodriguez stopped text messaging her sister several days earlier and didn't stop by the family home with her son over the weekend.
Worries grew when Rodriguez didn't call her mother for her April 1 birthday. On Friday, April 9, the mother's body was found in the Mississippi River by fishermen. The boy, however, still remains missing.
"We always begged my sister to leave him, but she would never leave him. Maybe it was because she loved him and had faith that the relationship was going to get better."
-Guadalupe Rodriguez, Gebar's Aunt
Yasmin and Gebar disappeared in late March. The last place they were seen alive was in University City, where they lived with Gebar's father.
The couple had met about eight years before in college, and moved in together after they started dating. At the end of March 2010, Rodriguez thought he was cheating on her and told a friend she was done with their relationship.
Rodriguez's family said the seven-year relationship between Rodriguez and the boy's father, Gebar Byrd Sr., was tumultuous. Guadalupe Rodriguez said Byrd was physically abusive, citing one time last year when she said he seriously injured Yasmin Rodriguez in a beating. Police were called, but Rodriguez didn't press charges, her sister said.
"I really do want to make sure that I'm able to get in contact with my son cause he does need to be with his father now that his mother is out of the way. I do believe there was some foul play involved. I'm not sure what type but someone came and picked them up. I'm not sure what happened that's all I know."
-Gebar Byrd Sr., Gebar Byrd Jr.'s father
Initially Byrd fully cooperated with police in their investigation, and said he wasn't at the home in the 6600 block of Crest Avenue when his girlfriend and son left. Byrd told police an argument between him and Rodriguez ended with him leaving the the house. When he returned, the boy and his mother were gone. He stated she had done the same thing a year before and had stayed with relatives for a month, so he wasn't concerned about her or their son. Byrd passed three polygraph tests.
Byrd spoke directly to the person responsible for Yasmine's death and to anyone who knows where his son is.
"You really do need to turn yourself in to the police department, for what you did, for the injustification that was done to my fiancée- my lady. That was really really wrong and somebody has to answer for it. Somebody's gonna have to answer for the justice that's gonna be done for that."-Gebar Byrd Sr.
Investigators searched the home after the two were reported missing by her family but they found no signs of a crime. Guadalupe Rodriguez and her family still suspected Byrd knew more than he was telling police about Yasmin's disappearance.
TIME WOULD TELL THEIR HUNCH WAS RIGHT.
"The more time goes by, the more you start realizing that this is really happening. So it's confusing and it's hard, you know." -Miguel Rodriguez, brother of Yasmin Rodriguez
Police searched the waters of the Mississippi River on in hopes of finding a lead in the case of missing 2-year-old Gebar Bryd Jr., after Bryd's mother's body was found in the Mississippi River, but were unable to locate him. Authorities initially stated there was no obvious signs of trauma on Yasmin Rodriguez's body, but on closer examination they discovered a cut on her forehead and bruises on her arms, legs and torso. Gebar Byrd Sr. was eventually charged with two counts of first-degree murder, endangering the welfare of a child and domestic assault. The charges marked the first official acknowledgment that the child, Gebar Byrd Jr., 23 months old, is dead.
Investigators believe Gebar Sr. pushed Rodriguez into the river at Riverview and Spring Garden Drive while she was holding the child in her arms. Rodriguez couldn't swim, something Gebar Sr. was aware of, and both she and their son drowned. Police stated Gebar Sr. had confessed to the crime, after initially claiming he did not know what had happened to the two, then telling police several stories such as Rodriguez had intentionally killed their son and then took her own life by walking into the river holding the toddler and that he tried to save him but she threw the toddler into the water and then he pushed her in afterward.
At his trial his defense argued that his confession had been coerced. The prosecution argued the videotaped statement does not show police coercing him to confess anything, and if Rodriguez had committed suicide, why wouldn't Byrd have told police that from the beginning, instead of denying he knew what had happened?
Byrd, after his arrest, had at first denied knowing what happened, then said Rodriquez walked into the river holding the toddler and that he tried to save them. Then he said Rodriguez threw the child in and he pushed her in after him. A police officer who went to their home in University City on March 28 said Byrd was cooperative, but inside the home he noticed a heavy odor of bleach, water on the floor, a mop bucket, two mops, and a leather jacket soaking in the sink. Defense attorney Brad Kessler noted during cross-examination that Byrd had to move out of the home by the end of the month and could have been cleaning to prepare for the move. University City police detective Shannon Eaton also testified that in a trash bin behind the home, he found a wicker basket, a necklace and a rosary that belonged to Rodriguez.
Medical examiner Phillip Burch testified that there was a cut on Rodriguez's forehead and bruises on the torso, arms, and legs, injuries that likely happened just before or during the time of death.
Under cross-examination by Kessler, Burch agreed that the bruising could have happened if Rodriguez was struck by an object once she was in the water.
Judge Hettenbach, visibly frustrated, referenced Byrd's continued denials saying, "Clearly we are never going to know how Mrs. Rodriguez and her son got put in that cold, dark river." The jury had decided it could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt that he intended to kill the two, resulting in the reduction to second-degree murder.
After trial the jury found him guilty of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment and second-degree domestic assault and the judge handed down a life sentence, the maximum possible sentence for drowning his girlfriend and their toddler son in the Mississippi River. He received seven consecutive years each on charges of involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment and second-degree domestic assault. He is currently serving his sentence out in Potosi Correctional Center.
"You are supposed to put your own life at risk to protect your family; you're not supposed to take the lives of your family. Even animals show this propensity, but you do not." -St. Louis Circuit Judge Bryan Hettenbach
Byrd continued to profess innocence, his brief comments ending with, "Not guilty" despite the fact that most defendants accept responsibility at sentencing in hope of a lesser penalty.
Gebar Sr.'s mother believes her grandson is still alive, because his birth certificate and other documents could not be found after his disappearance. Guadalupe Rodriguez said she believed Byrd had killed her sister and nephew because Yasmin indicated to him that she was tired of how he treated her, however Gebar Jr. has never been found.
- Race: Biracial, Black, Hispanic
- Date of Birth: 04/13/2008
- Height and Weight: 2'3 (27 Inches), 26 pounds
- Distinguishing Characteristics:
Biracial (Black/Hispanic) male.
Black hair, brown eyes.
Some agencies refer to Gebar as Gebar Byrd Rodriguez.
NamUs #MP7583
IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
University City Police Department
Phone: (314) 725-2211 Agency Case Number: 10-010263
or
St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department
Phone: (314) 231-1212
Agency Case Number: 10-018828
or
Submit an anonymous tip online
or via the SLMPD mobile app.
It is free to download on the
iOS AppStore and Google Play Marketplace
or contact Crime Stoppers Tip Hotline at
1-866-371-8477 (TIPS)
or
Text STL and your tip to
C-R-I-M-E-S (274637)
Verify active missing status here.
From your desktop see others missing from St. Louis
On mobile click here to return to units
Click here to return to Units from your desktop
