Jalayshia Alford, the 10-year-old Philadelphia girl who disappeared while living in foster care, has been found dead inside a vehicle in Lindenwold, New Jersey, and one person has been charged in connection with her killing, according to NBC10 Philadelphia.
The heartbreaking discovery was reported Thursday, November 5, more than a week after Jalayshia, who also went by Malayshia or May, was last seen in West Philadelphia on October 26.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel were expected to hold a news conference Thursday at 5:30 p.m. to announce charges against a suspect. As of early Thursday afternoon, authorities had not publicly identified the individual or released Jalayshia’s cause of death.
The news comes as her biological family raises troubling questions about what happened while the little girl was in foster care, including an aunt’s account of trying to bring Jalayshia into her own home before the tragedy.
Jalayshia Alford was last seen around 7:30 a.m. on October 26 near the 500 block of North Simpson Street, where she reportedly lived with a foster family. According to police, she was wearing her blue school uniform and glasses.
Her disappearance sparked an extensive investigation involving Philadelphia police, the FBI, and the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office. Investigators canvassed the neighborhood, examined surveillance footage and used search dogs while trying to determine what happened to her.
However, one of the most troubling details emerged from Jalayshia’s biological family before her body was discovered.
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Her aunt, Nyfisha Allford, told Philadelphia’s 6abc that she had previously attempted to obtain custody of her niece while Jalayshia was under the supervision of the Department of Human Services, commonly known as DHS.
“I’m just really torn up because she was in DHS custody, and there was a time I tried to get her. They came to my home, they looked it over, and then I was ignored,” Allford said.
According to her account, the custody process reached the point of a home visit, but she was subsequently left without a response.
Allford’s allegations raise questions about how her request was handled and whether relatives were considered as potential caregivers. Available reporting has not independently established why the process stopped or whether DHS formally denied her request.
The aunt also expressed how devastating the disappearance had been for her family.
“For her to be missing this many days, it’s just crazy,” she told 6abc.
“We just thought she was safe; clearly, she isn’t,” Allford added before learning of her niece’s death.
Jalayshia Alford’s relatives had reportedly gone an extended period without seeing her. CBS Philadelphia also reported that family members said they were initially told by her foster mother that Jalayshia had gone to her biological mother’s home. According to the family, her biological mother did not have custody of the child and did not have her.
That account has not been independently confirmed, and authorities have not publicly established exactly what happened between Jalayshia’s last confirmed sighting and the discovery of her body.
Philadelphia Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore previously acknowledged concerns about the child’s disappearance, explaining that investigators had obtained footage showing her traveling to and from school on earlier days but had not located footage of her after October 26.
“I’m very concerned. It’s been too long, and she’s very young,” Vanore said during the search.
Investigators also reportedly encountered conflicting accounts from adults connected to the case, making it difficult to reconstruct her final known movements.
On Wednesday, November 4, investigators searched an area in West Philadelphia after possible remains were discovered. Those remains were later determined to be from an animal.
By Thursday, the search had reached a devastating conclusion when Jalayshia’s body was located in New Jersey.
Her former teacher, Tashonna Moore, remembered the child as gentle and kind.
“She was so sweet and kind. She didn’t do nothing to anybody,” Moore told NBC10. “I literally cried all day. I was not able to focus.”
The discovery has transformed what began as a missing child investigation into a homicide case, with prosecutors preparing to disclose the allegations against a suspect.
For Jalayshia Alford’s family, the investigation also leaves unanswered questions about the foster care arrangement, the previous attempts to obtain custody, and what happened during the days before her disappearance.
Authorities have not publicly established whether the aunt’s earlier custody request had any connection to the circumstances surrounding Jalayshia’s death.
Jalayshia was just 10 years old.
