Latest news with #MontrellWilliams
New York Post
10-08-2025
- New York Post
Kin of tragic tot tossed into East River suing NYPD for $60M, claim cops told mom, ‘So what?'
The grieving mother of a 2-year-old boy tossed to his death in the East River is suing the city and the NYPD for $60 million, accusing them of failing to try to save him when told he'd been taken by his dad. Cierra Carroll, 17, claims in a new complaint that police misclassified her call when she reported little Montrell Williams missing in May — with someone even hanging up the phone after asking, 'So what?' 'Montrell Williams should be here today if it wasn't for the NYPD being neglectful in finding him,' family spokesman Rev. Kevin McCall said at a press conference outside the NYPD 40th Precinct stationhouse on Friday, according to the Daily News. 4 Montrell Williams, 2, was killed when he was tossed off a Bronx overpass on May 11, allegedly by his father. 'No amount of money will bring him back,' McCall said. 'However, the NYPD has to be held responsible.' Carroll said she called police on May 11 after Montrell's father, 20-year-old Arius Williams, failed to return him — but cops blew her off when she called 911, she claims. 'They told me not to follow him and to go to the police to file a complaint,' Carroll told the Daily Mail. 'I told the police that he had a warrant, they said, 'So what?'' That official then 'hung up the phone,' according to Carroll's own mom, Octavia Roane. McCall first accused the NYPD of negligence in the case in June alongside Roane, Montrell's grandmother, claiming police misclassified the 911 call as a simple custody dispute. 4 Octavia Roane, the grandmother of tragic tot Montrell Williams, at a press conference in June abou tthe boy's death. James Messerschmidt 4 Arius Williams, 20, is charged with murder for allegedly throwing his 2-year-old son into the East River on May 11. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post Arius Williams is now charged with killing his tiny son one day earlier by allegedly tossing him off a Bronx overpass and into the East River during a custodial visit with the toddler. Carroll waited for her boy to be returned outside a McDonald's on Mother's Day. The tragic tot's body was later recovered from the waters off Ferry Point Park in Queens. Although police weren't notified that Montrell was missing until a day after he was killed, the family said it took until May 28 for a warrant to be issued ordering the dad to produce the boy. The brute even taunted Carroll when she questioned him about their son. 4 Montrell Williams, 2, was supposed to go to McDonald's wit his mom on Mother's Day. DCPI 'Shut the f–k up,' he allegedly snapped at her. 'I threw that n—a into the river!' Now, Montrell's family said the NYPD bears some blame. 'NYPD officers misclassified the call as a custody dispute, failed to initiate a missing child investigation, failed to issue an Amber Alert, and took no immediate steps to locate or safeguard Montrell,' the lawsuit said, according to the Daily News.
Daily Mail
10-08-2025
- Daily Mail
Boy 'thrown off bridge' went missing on mother's day... but cops told mom: 'So what?', lawsuit claims
The mother and grandmother of a 2-year-old who police say was thrown into the Bronx River by his father are suing New York authorities for allegedly telling her 'So what' when she called 911. Montrell Williams, 2, vanished on Mother's Day after a custody visit with his 20‑year‑old father Arius WIlliams, and his body was later discovered in the East River nearly a month after his disappearance on June 11. Now, Williams' mother, 17‑year‑old Cierra Carroll, is suing the city for $60 million, alleging the NYPD failed to investigate the toddler's disappearance, a lawsuit claims. Carroll claims she repeatedly alerted police that her son had not been returned but was met with no support, and grew emotional as she detailed her ordeal at a Friday press conference outside the NYPD's 40th Precinct. 'They told me not to follow him and to go to the police to file a complaint,' Carroll said. 'I told the police that he had a warrant, they said, "So what?"' 'And hung up the phone,' Carroll's mother, Octavia Roane, added. Court records say Montrell's father was captured on surveillance video walking with his young son before allegedly tossing him from the Bruckner Expressway overpass in The Bronx. Arius Williams now faces charges including second‑degree murder and manslaughter, and remains held without bail. Carroll filed a formal notice of claim, a prerequisite to suing a government entity, on Thursday. She stood visibly shaken as she held her press conference in the Bronx, surrounded by her mother and a spokesperson for the family. 'She's very hurt right now,' Roane said. 'The way the police responded, the way they acted towards us, no care in the world.' 'They put them on notice that this child is in danger. No Amber Alert was issued at all. And, while this child's life was hanging in the balance, they were pushed to the side,' the family's lawyer, Shiraz Khan, added. The family also alleges they filed multiple missing-persons reports but were repeatedly directed to family court rather than being treated with urgency. Police say Montrell was murdered on May 10 but that the initial complaint wasn't reported to the NYPD until May 11, The Gothamist reported. Mayor Eric Adams said the NYPD's handling of the case is under review. The toddler was last seen around 10 p.m. on May 10, wearing only a white shirt and diaper, at an apartment building in Hunts Point about a mile from his home. He was last seen around 10 p.m. on May 10 at an apartment building at Hunts Point Avenue and Gilbert Place in Hunts Point (pictured) The boy was reportedly with his 20-year-old father that day for a scheduled custodial visit. The parents share split custody and visitation rights. However, when Montrell was not returned, his mother grew concerned. On May 30, after questioning the father about the boy's whereabouts, she received a troubling response. 'She asked where their son was and he made concerning statements,' a police source told the Daily News. Officials confirmed that the father's initial statements raised red flags about the child's safety. Following initial questioning at a police precinct, the father appeared in Bronx Family Court to answer a warrant for failing to return Montrell in accordance with the custody agreement, according to ABC7. When he refused to disclose the boy's location to the judge, he was taken into custody. Detectives have reason to believe the father threw Montrell into the Bronx River, near the Bruckner Expressway.
CBS News
08-08-2025
- CBS News
Mother of 2-year-old allegedly killed by father plans to sue NYPD for wrongful death
The mother of a toddler allegedly killed by his father in the Bronx says she plans to sue the New York City Police Department. The body of 2-year-old Montrell Williams was found in the East River in June, over a month after he went missing. His father, 20-year-old Arius Williams, is charged with his murder after Williams allegedly threw Montrell off a bridge. Montrell's mother, Cierra Carroll, claims police ignored her repeated calls for help. Carroll says on Mother's Day in May, Williams did not show up to return Montrell, so she called 911. She claims dispatchers misclassified it as a custody dispute. Eventually, she says, a judge issued an arrest warrant, but Carroll accuses the NYPD of failing to execute it. "We made several calls to 911, calls for the police, and nothing was done," said Carroll's mother, Octavia Roane. Carroll says she found the boy's father weeks later at a nearby shelter and claims he admitted to throwing the boy in the water, and also threatened her with a knife. She alerted police, but says they were delayed in arresting him. "I shouldn't have had to chase him down in order to find the child," Carroll said. Carroll leaned on her mother for support as they both described Montrell. "He was a happy child," Carroll said. "He loved playing with his toy cars. He liked running around," Roane said. Standing outside the 40th Precinct in the Bronx on Friday, Carroll's attorney announced they've filed a notice of claim for $60 million against the City of New York and the NYPD for what they're calling Montrell's wrongful death. Attorney Shiraz Khan says the women did everything they could. "They called not once, multiple times trying to get help. They put them on notice that Montrell's father was a dangerous man. They put them on notice that this child is in danger. They asked for help repeatedly. No Amber Alert was issued," Khan said. Activists are standing with the family. "No amount of money will bring back Montrell," Rev. Kevin McCall said. The NYPD said they will review the lawsuit "if and when it is filed." Last month, the mayor said the police response was under review. Williams, meanwhile, is being held without bail.
CBS News
16-06-2025
- CBS News
Montrell Williams' family plans to take legal action against NYPD. Here's what they claim.
The grandmother of 2-year-old Montrell Williams spoke out Monday, a week after authorities recovered what is believed to be his body from the East River. Prosecutors say his father threw him into the river alive sometime in May. Arius Williams, 20, has been charged with murder and manslaughter and is being held without bail. Montrell Williams' family to take legal action against NYPD The grandmother on Monday joined civil rights activists who say the family is planning to file legal action against the NYPD. She claims on Mother's Day, after the boy's father did not show up at the meeting location to return the boy, her 17-year old-daughter called 911. The grandmother said dispatchers told her it was a custody issue, and it was only the next day in court that a judge issued a wellness check and an arrest warrant for the father to bring back the child. When that didn't work, the family says police still told them the matter is in the hands of the courts and it's a missing person case. NYPD knew history of domestic violence in the home, Rev. McCall says The Rev. Kevin McCall, who is representing the family, says weeks later the mother and grandmother even found the father at a nearby shelter and alerted police about the arrest warrant, but the NYPD allegedly didn't act. That's when the family allegedly followed the father into Manhattan and an officer there made the arrest. "He's a loving, kind, caring boy, playful, joyful. Everybody loved him and everybody is just heartbroken. Everybody is sad, heartbroken, just in disbelief that somebody would do this to a 2-year-old. He was just a baby," the grandmother said. "They knew that there was a history of domestic violence within the home, that within the home they knew that the father, the mother, the son, whether it was mental abuse or whether it was physical abuse, they knew that because of the history," McCall said. Last week, Mayor Eric Adams said the police response was under review. The NYPD released the following statement on Monday: "The murder of Montrell Williams is an absolute tragedy, and the NYPD extends our deepest condolences to his family. Our detectives are always committed to conducting complete and thorough investigations, and the arrest of Arius Williams is the first step in the pursuit of justice for Montrell's death," the department said.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
This NYC Father Suspected of Killing His 2-Year-Old Son, Tossing His Remains in a River
New York City authorities have been searching endlessly for a 2-year-old Black boy for the past month. The investigation into his disappearance has brought police to a disturbing theory about what might have happened to him – and it involves his own father. Little Montrell Williams was last seen on May 10 wearing just a shirt and a diaper on Hunts Point Road in the Bronx. Sources say he was last with his parents at a family event, per NBC 4 New York. When he left, he went with his father, whose turn it was for a custodial visit, back to the child's grandmother's house. The 20-year-old man has not been named by authorities. The following day, the child's father and his grandmother got into a disagreement, per ABC7 News. Authorities believe the man left with Montrell but never brought him to his mother's house. 'Me and him had a conflict. I'm in my room. My cousin told me that my son took the baby. I went downstairs to chase him. He was gone. From that day, I was trying to search for my grandson,' the grandmother said via ABC7. The two vanished, leaving the child's mother, a 17-year-old, and the child's grandmother in a frenzy trying to search for them. She told reporters she received little to no help in the search from law enforcement when she sought them for help. It wasn't until Sunday (June 8) that the child's mother ran into the father again and it was not a peaceful interaction. She tells ABC7 he pulled a knife on her when she confronted him about the toddler and allegedly confessed to where the toddler was: in the Bronx River where he allegedly threw him. In just an instant, the hope that Little Montrell was alive was gone. The child's mother called the police and he was taken into custody. Despite his chilling confession to his child's mother, the report says he refused to give any details to the cops when they interrogated him. Investigators say they obtained surveillance footage of Montrell's father tossing a black bag into the river which they believed contained the toddler's body. However, the child's remains are still yet to be recovered. On Monday (June 9), the child's father appeared in family court for failing to return Montrell to his mother and violating their custody agreement, the report says. The judge also ordered him to jail for failing to report where the child was. He's not facing any charges at this time. In the meantime, the police department is facing their own scrutiny from Mayor Eric Adams for how they responded to the incident. The mayor said he plans to examine everything from the time it took for the missing persons report to be filed to the case being pitched to the detective division. 'We were still investigating all actions, the actions of the dad, the actions of officers who responded, and once we have a full understanding based on the detective division will be able to answer what happened but right now our goal is to try and find the child,' Adams said in a press conference.
