Background: Police investigate after a child's body was found in a duffel bag in Philadelphia, Pa. (WCAU/YouTube). Inset left: Dominique Bailey (Philadelphia Police Department). Inset middle: Kevin Spencer (Philadelphia Police Department). Inset right: Damari Carter (Philadelphia Obituary Project).
A mother and her boyfriend have been convicted in the death of her 4-year-old son, who Pennsylvania authorities say was beaten to death by the man and then stuffed in a duffel bag.
Kevin Spencer and Dominique Bailey, both 33, were each found guilty of third-degree murder, conspiracy to commit third-degree murder, child endangerment, abuse of a corpse and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, according to court records reviewed by Law&Crime.
The couple was charged in the death of young Damari Carter.
On Dec. 30, 2023, the Philadelphia Police Department began investigating the disappearance of Damari, Philadelphia ABC affiliate WPVI reported. Family members had not seen him for weeks, with his aunt saying they last saw him on his birthday, Nov. 25, 2023.
As Law&Crime previously reported, the child's relatives shared that Bailey claimed a car had fatally struck her son. However, investigators found no evidence of such a crash.
When officers brought the mother in for questioning in January 2024, she reportedly had a different story, and officers searched Spencer's home on the 3800 block of Reno Street in Philadelphia.
According to court documents reviewed by the local TV station, Bailey saw her boyfriend, Spencer, beat Damari, giving the child a swollen head and black eyes. The mother reportedly realized her son was dead when she went to kiss him goodnight.
However, instead of informing authorities, Bailey and Spencer reportedly concocted the car crash story. Police said they found surveillance video from a doorbell camera showing Spencer dragging a duffel bag containing Damari's body out of the home the day after the beating.
Officers ultimately arrested Bailey and Spencer, but authorities had not yet found Damari's body.
On March 18, 2024, Community Life Improvement Program employees were cleaning in the area of the 600 block of North 38th Street in Philadelphia when they found the duffel bag, according to area NBC affiliate WCAU. Inside were Damari's remains.
The defendants are both expected to be sentenced on Dec. 4.