A 31-year-old woman has been charged with murder after she allegedly fabricated a kidnapping story involving her 3-year-old daughter. Police discovered human remains in Maryland, leading to the cancellation of an Amber Alert. The suspect, Darrian Randle, claimed an armed man abducted her daughter, but authorities found the remains consistent with a child, prompting arrests and charges against Randle and her boyfriend, Ced, Britten.
Randle told officers on Tuesday that an armed man snatched her daughter, Nola Dinkins, from her vehicle and then fled in an SUV with a White woman at around 7:15 p.m., according to New Castle County Police. Police responded to the scene in the 500 block of Gender Road in Newark, in northern Delaware, and then an overnight investigation for a missing person was launched by the New Castle County Division of Police Criminal Investigations Unit and the FBI.
However, the Amber Alert was canceled when police in Maryland discovered human remains in a vacant lot in Cecil County after questioning Britten at Randle’s last known address in North East, Maryland. The remains have not yet been identified, and police are awaiting formal identification from the medical examiner. Maryland State Police said the remains appear consistent with those of a child.
Maryland State Police spokesperson Elena Russo on Wednesday said Randle and Britten were arrested and charged in connection with the investigation, according to Fox 29. Randle has been charged with first and second-degree murder, child abuse resulting in death, and other crimes. She is currently in police custody at the New Castle County Division of Police awaiting extradition, Fox 29 reported. Britten, meanwhile, has been charged as an accessory after the fact, including failure to report a child’s death. He is being held by police in Maryland and awaiting transport to the Cecil County District Court for an initial appearance.