20-month-old child found murdered in Gadsden, father in custody - ABC 33/40 - Birmingham News, Weather, Sports

Just off the main road, with Gadsden city limits still in sight, is Plainview Street.

It's where Patricia Harvey grew up.

"I've been here all my life on this hill, about 45 years," she said.

A quiet hill, now the scene of murder.

Tuesday night, about 9:30, Plainview Street was blocked off with police everywhere. Harvey felt left in the dark.

"It's not fair," she said. "We didn't know what was going on."

Police were looking for and eventually found the body of 20-month-old Maliyah Lindsay.

"All I can say is Lord have mercy," Harvey said.

But how could an infant end up in a rural, wooded area?

"This is extremely disheartening," Gadsden Police Capt. Bobby Jackson said.

Jackson says it was the evening of March 5 while Maliyah's mother, 19-year-old Tasmine Thomas, was sleeping. Maliyah was taken by her father, 35-year-old Stephon Lindsay, believed to be going to his sister's house.

For six days, Thomas never questioned it and never tried to contact Lindsay's sister.

"As far as we know, right now, she did not try to make contact," Jackson said.

Then, March 11, Thomas wanted to go get her daughter. She told police Lindsay went to get gas, but never returned. Starting to panic, she called his sister, but Lindsay's sister said she hadn't seen Lindsay or Maliyah for several weeks.

That's when Thomas called police.

"They arrested him and brought him to city hall for an interview," Jackson said.

Lindsay led police to Plainview Street. A dead end road. A local dump sight.

There, about 10 feet from Plainview Street, layed Maliyah in plain view. She was lying next to the body of a dead puppy.

Jackson said Lindsay is facing a capital murder charge and should be formally charged as early as Wednesday evening. Jackson said he could not comment on a possible motive, or if Lindsay confessed to the murder.

Maliyah Lindsay's body has been sent to Huntsville for an autopsy.