Warning: This article contains descriptions of physical violence and may be disturbing to some readers.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org, or texting LOVEIS to 22522.
The foster mother accused of killing 10-year-old Malayshia Alford physically assaulted the girl and used the child’s phone to text herself to confuse investigators after her death, according to a detailed police report obtained by NBC10 investigators.
Carprice Williams, 36, is charged with murder, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal use of a communications facility, possession of an instrument of crime, reckless endangerment, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse.
Philadelphia police, family photo
Philadelphia police, family photo Left to right: Carprice Williams, Malaysia Alford
On Friday, November 6, NBC10 investigators obtained an arrest report that provides a detailed timeline of what led to Williams’ arrest, as well as allegations of a history of physical abuse against his adopted daughter.
The disappearance of Malayshia Alford
On Monday, October 26, at 5:13 p.m., police responded to Williams’ home in the 500 block of North Simpson Street in Philadelphia after receiving a report that Alford was missing. Alford had been in Williams’ custody for about a year, investigators said.
Williams told police that Alford never came home from school and did not answer her phone. Williams also claimed that Alford school employees told him that the girl never rode the school bus after school. Williams claimed she received text messages from Alford telling her she was with her biological family.
Police checked Williams’ home several times but could not find Alford, according to the report.
Investigators later determined that Alford had not been at school from Friday, October 23 through Monday, October 26. When police told Williams this, she claimed the school never told her Alford was absent. She also claimed Alford left for school on Oct. 23 but left her phone at home, according to the police report.
CNB10
CNB10 Carprice Williams leaves home amid search for Malayshia Alford.
Police checked addresses associated with Alford’s biological parents, but the girl remains missing. The FBI later joined the investigation and analyzed the phone records of Alford and Williams.
Investigators obtained the following text message that was sent from Alford’s phone to Williams’ phone on October 26 at 3:23 p.m.:
“Mom I know you’re waiting for me to come home but my family doesn’t want me to be adopted and I just wish we could all be together. I love you and (redacted) so much and you will have been the best family to me but I just really want to see how it feels, don’t be mad and I’m sorry mom, sorry I love you mom.”
Williams then sent a text message to Alford’s phone, stating that she was not angry but needed to go home.
“You don’t know these people and I need to keep you safe,” Williams texted. “You’re taken care of for a reason. Please, I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at them for this.”
New questions arise about the murder of 10-year-old Malayshia Alford and the care she received. NBC10 investigative reporter David Charns has more.
Witnesses detail story of alleged abuse
As the investigation continued, police spoke with two juvenile witnesses on November 3. Both children said they saw Williams physically abuse Alford whenever they visited the home. The alleged abuse included Williams hitting the girl with a telephone cord, throwing her down the stairs and forcing her up and down the stairs while wearing a heavy vest, according to the police report.
Witnesses said they noticed several injuries on Alford, including a swollen, swollen leg and deep cuts on his hands.
Witnesses also said Williams punished Alford by not allowing her to eat or drink and that the girl had to ask her foster mother for permission to use the restroom. Witnesses claimed Williams also physically abused them, with one child saying Williams bent his fingers and the other saying Williams told his biological son to hit them with a sword.
Witnesses said that during their last visit to the house on October 24, they noticed Alford lying in bed with her arm behind her back. They said she never changed her position or answered when they called her.
In light of the murder of a missing 10-year-old girl, NBC10’s Lena Tillett speaks in-depth with Leslie Slingsby of the Mission Kids Advocacy Center about the state of the foster care system.
Police find body of child
On November 4, investigators obtained surveillance video from outside Williams’ home showing activity on October 26 at 1:52 a.m. The video showed a person dragging a large bag, placing it in the backseat of a black Escalade and leaving.
Police later identified the person as one of Williams’ family members and questioned them.
“You want me to say I killed the child and put her in the ground,” the family member told investigators, according to the police report. “You want me to tell you and my life is ruined. You need to give me time because I’m not doing it tonight.”
The family member then accompanied investigators to 1800 Laurel Road in Lindenwold, New Jersey. Investigators found Alford’s body inside a silver 2011 Lincoln MKZ. The girl’s body and her backpack were located in two trash bags placed inside a large tote bag. Investigators said the body showed signs of decomposition. They also found multiple whip-shaped marks on the girl’s legs, thighs and buttocks, among other injuries, including a fractured rib.
Carprice Williams was denied bail after being charged with murder in the death of her adopted daughter, 10-year-old Malayshia Alford. NBC10’s Aaron Baskerville learned through sources that Williams was a teacher in the Philadelphia school district. He also spoke with members of the community.
An autopsy determined Alford died from blunt force trauma and her death was ruled a homicide.
The family member later told investigators they received a text message from Williams on Oct. 25 telling them to meet her at her Philadelphia home. When they arrived at the Simpson Street home, Williams told the family member that Alford never woke up, indicating the girl was dead and it was too late to call police, according to investigators.
The family member said they later saw Williams with the large bag, but never saw Alford’s body. The family member then admitted to driving the bag to his home in Lindenwold and transferring it to the trunk of the silver Lincoln MKZ, which he also owned.
The Arrest of Carprice Williams
On Thursday, November 5, police and the FBI located Williams at a home on Overbrook Avenue in Philadelphia. During an interview, Williams told investigators that Alford had recently been acting and behaving differently, saying it was due to stomach issues and an upcoming court hearing.
Williams claimed Alford wore a weighted vest that calmed her and kept her from hurting herself when she threw herself during tantrums. She said she thought the last time Alford had worn the vest was about six months earlier, according to the police report.
Williams also told investigators that Alford fell down some steps on Oct. 24 and gave the girl some water before taking her to bed. She said she saw the girl later that night and Alford showed no signs of being affected by the fall. When detectives told Williams that Alford was dead, Williams asked for an attorney, according to the police report.
Detectives also determined that Williams used Alford’s phone and pretended to be his adopted daughter while texting each other on October 26. They also said they found Alford’s weighted vest and iPhone while searching the house.
Williams was later arrested and charged. On Friday, November 6, she was arraigned on all charges against her and was ordered held without bail.
NBC10 confirmed through sources that Williams was a teacher in the Philadelphia school district. Payroll records reviewed by NBC10 investigators identified Williams as a teacher at the Lewis C. Cassidy School, an elementary school located at 6523 Lansdowne Ave.
NBC10 reached out to the school district, which said it could not comment on personnel matters.
Previous allegations
Court documents obtained by NBC10 investigators reveal that Williams was identified as the adoptive parent in a lawsuit involving allegations that another young girl suffered severe abuse and neglect while in his care.
The civil complaint, filed in 2024, targeted the organizations involved in the placement and supervision of the other child in Williams’ foster home. Nadeem Bezar, who represented the then-four-year-old’s family, confirmed to NBC10 that Williams was the adoptive parent identified in the complaint.
According to the complaint, the girl, identified only by her initials, was placed in a foster home on North Simpson Street in June 2020. In January 2021, the girl was taken to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where doctors found serious injuries.
The complaint cites a Child Protective Services report that described the girl as malnourished with a distended abdomen, facial abrasions, acute subdural hemorrhages and patterned leg injuries indicating she had been struck with an object. An attending physician classified his condition as near-death, according to the complaint.
“Knowing what I know from the previous report or the prior closure of her home, I know that Malayshia’s death was entirely preventable and should not have happened at the hands of this foster parent who had already subjected a small child to what they call near-mortality,” Bezar said. “This shouldn’t have happened.”
Following the girl’s hospitalization, the Community Umbrella Agency closed the home as a foster home, according to the lawsuit.
The matter was finally settled. It was unclear whether a criminal complaint was ever filed regarding the charges. Williams did not face any charges related to this.
It’s not clear from court records reviewed by NBC10 how or why Williams was then able to foster another child. The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rep. Amen Brown helps arrange Malaysia’s funeral. It is not yet known when and where the memorial service will take place.
NBC10 investigators can be reached at david.charns@nbcuni.com and ali.ingersoll@nbcuni.com.
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