Elijah Mayes, 19, has been arrested in the death of an 11-month-old Kentucky baby whose body was discovered stuffed inside a couch.
The teen babysitter was watching Grayson Walton at a home in Cleaton on Sept. 13 when the child’s father returned from work around 5 p.m. And found his son missing, according to police. The father had left Grayson in Mayes’ care during his shift.
A police search of the residence ended with the discovery of Grayson’s tiny body jammed into furniture, authorities said. The dead infant was covered in bruises and appeared to have teeth marks on his stomach.
Mayes initially told investigators that a family friend had collected the baby the previous evening. He even displayed what he claimed were text messages between himself and that woman to officers.
When police located the alleged family friend, she denied any involvement and said she had not taken Grayson from the home. Investigators then determined Mayes had created a fake phone number and sent messages to himself in an attempt to manufacture an alibi, according to authorities.
Neighbors reported seeing Mayes with Grayson at a separate property on the night before the baby’s body was found.
The search of the home also uncovered methamphetamine that police alleged belonged to Mayes. He now faces charges of murder, abuse of a corpse, criminal abuse and meth possession.
Grayson’s step-grandfather was additionally arrested and charged with tampering with physical evidence, though authorities have not clarified his alleged role in the case.
“They’re devastated,” Cleaton community member Jennifer Banks said of Grayson’s family during a recent vigil for the infant.
“And to live in a small community is to feel everything together. That’s what small community is. It’s like we’re all family,” Banks told WBKO.
The baby would have turned one year old in approximately two weeks.