On June 9, the NYPD had asked for public’s help locating 2-year-old Montrell Williams who they said had last been seen at his father’s Hunts Point Avenue address in The Bronx on Saturday May 10, at around 10 p.m. They said the little boy was described as having a medium complexion, brown eyes, and black hair and was last seen wearing a white shirt and diaper.

 

Pursuant to an ongoing investigation, police said on June 12 that the missing person’s investigation into his disappearance had been deemed a homicide, and Arius Williams of Hunts Point Avenue had been arrested. They said Williams was charged on June 11 at 8.09 p.m. in the confines of the 40th Precinct, which covers the Bronx neighborhoods of Port Morris, Mott Haven, and Melrose.

 

Police said Williams was hit with two counts of murder and two counts of manslaughter. When we asked if there was a second murder victim, they clarified that the charges brought against Williams were murder (with intent), murder (depraved killing of a person under 11 years of age), manslaughter (with intent to cause physical injury) and manslaughter of a person under the age of 11.

 

Several media outlets have reported that a body retrieved from New York City’s East River in recent days is the body of the missing two-year-old toddler. We asked the NYPD for more information around the circumstances of Montrell’s death. We were informed that the information shared to date was as much as they could share for now while detectives continue the investigation.

 

Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson issued a statement on June 13, saying, “Our borough is in mourning and absolute shock over the tragic and senseless death of two-year-old Montrell Williams. When a precious young life is taken from us, it tears at the very fabric of our community.”

 

She continued, “We extend our deepest and heartfelt condolences to Montrell’s family and all those who are grieving during this time of unimaginable pain. No mother or family should ever have to experience this kind of heartbreaking loss. I am thankful to the NYPD, our emergency responders, and city agencies who worked tirelessly throughout this investigation.”

Gibson concluded, “My office remains in close contact with our law enforcement partners and stands ready to support the family and our community in any way that we can. Please pray for comfort, healing, and strength for Montrell`s family as they navigate this unbearable grief. We will continue to stand with them.”

 

Williams is deemed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.

 

We have reached out to the City’s Medical Examiner for the cause of death and will share any updates we receive.

 

Separate from this incident, as reported, five teenage girls from a Castle Hill group home have also been reported missing, as have a number of people from Norwood, Bedford Park, Kingsbridge Heights, University Heights, and Williamsbridge in recent weeks. Click here, here here, here, here and here for more details.

 

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on X @NYPDTips.

 

All calls are strictly confidential.