Latest news with #TericaPearl
Miami Herald
6 days ago
- Miami Herald
1-year-old girl found dead in hearse was strangled by mom, Alabama cops say
A mom is accused of killing her 1-year-old daughter and leaving her body in a hearse outside an Alabama funeral home, according to authorities. Terica Pearl, 29, is now charged with capital murder, according to the Gadsden Police Department and Etowah County jail records. A young child was found dead in a vehicle outside the West Gadsden Funeral Home the morning of Aug. 9, police said in a news release. The funeral home's director, Dantez Robinson, went on Facebook Live to explain that he hadn't locked the hearse the night before. Then in the morning, the funeral home groundskeeper went to move the hearse when he noticed a dead toddler inside. 'He was just shocked,' Robinson said. The groundskeeper called him, and Robinson said he was in disbelief until he saw the scene for himself, then he called the police. Officers arrived and said they began investigating with 'little to no information to work from' at first. But less than 12 hours later, police arrested the child's mother, according to WBRC. She was booked in jail at around 2 a.m. Aug. 10. Court records revealed the 1-year-old had been strangled to death with a 'thick robe string,' reported. Robinson, who identified himself as the assistant coroner for Etowah County, said he's witnessed a lot of deaths as part of his job. 'But to see something like this, really sent me into another level of shock,' he said. Gadsden is about a 60-mile drive northeast from Birmingham.
Daily Mirror
7 days ago
- Daily Mirror
One-year-old baby girl found dead in hearse as funeral home staff make horror discovery
Terica Pearl is facing murder charges after her daughter's body was discovered at West Gadsden Funeral Home on Saturday A sick mum is accused of strangling her one-year-old baby girl with a "thick rope string" and dumping her body in the back of a funeral home hearse. Terica Pearl is facing murder charges after her daughter's body was discovered at West Gadsden Funeral Home on Saturday. An employee initially thought a doll was inside the hearse, but was left horrified after discovering it was a child's body. They called emergency services and discovered the remains were found strangulated with a "thick rope string", according to court documents. Pearl was arrested by police on Sunday and charged with capital murder, according to court records. It comes as a British man was charged after 'trying to drown his daughter-in-law on dream family holiday.' The funeral home owner, Dantez Robinson, has organised a vigil for baby Blessence, who was close to turning two. "My heart fell to my feet,' the funeral owner told WVTM. 'I have young ones. I have two kids at the age of 4 and 7. To get the phone call, my heart was shattered, shattered into a million pieces.' Gadsden Mayor Craig Ford described Blessence's death as a 'tough case for everyone involved.' 'I'm proud of the way our police department went after the truth and got it done. An arrest doesn't take away the hurt, but it does mean we're one step closer to justice for this child,' he told the outlet. It comes after a 69-year-old man was arrested after he allegedly tried to put a "chemical-laced handkerchief" over the face of a 13-year-old boy at a street corner. Willie Cowart, from Boston, is accused of the "bizarre" chemical assault after he approached the boy on the streets of Roxbury on July 28, just after midday. The teenager was waiting to be picked up "when an older man wearing a Hawaiian shirt approached, poured an unknown liquid on a red handkerchief, and tried to put the handkerchief over his mouth." The boy, who did not want to be identified, has been left "shaken" by the chemical attack, according to his parents "It's basically like facing your biggest fear. Like the way the guy was looking too," the teen told WBZ-TV. "My heart was beating fast and stuff. I was really scared." The teenager has been ordered not to go anywhere without his parents' supervision following the scary attack. "I can't go outside. My mum told me until I'm 20, to go outside by myself when school is finished, I can't stay after school," he said. Police searched the suspect's car and found chemical cleaning agents inside. "This is a strange, and extremely disturbing, set of facts," Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement Monday. "It doesn't take much imagination to appreciate how frightening it was for this young man to be standing on a street corner and suddenly be accosted in such a bizarre manner. I'm grateful that he suffered no apparent injuries."
Daily Mail
11-08-2025
- Daily Mail
Mother 'murdered one-year-old baby girl then dumped her body in hearse'
A one-year-old toddler was found dead in the back of a hearse and her mother has now been charged with murder. Blessence Pearl was discovered by an employee of West Gadsden Funeral Home in Alabama when he opened the hearse about 11.45am on Saturday. The little girl's mother Terica Pearl, 29, was arrested that evening and booked into the Etowah County Jail without bond at 1.48am, charged with murder. Gadsden Police Lieutenant Dusty Ford initially said Blessence's death was being investigated as a homicide 'until we can prove otherwise'. 'In under 12 hours, the investigation moved from uncertainty to an arrest,' he said. How the child died and how she ended up in the hearse is unclear, but funeral director Dantez Robinson said it was usually left unlocked. Pearl lost her four-week-old daughter Janaiha in a house fire in February 2011 when she was just 15. Reports at the time indicated the blaze began in the room where the baby slept and spread throughout the home. Carlos Blount explained how he found Blessence's body as he spoke at a vigil for the girl on Sunday. 'I got four girls of my own and I know how it feels. I couldn't even work yesterday, because that could have been one of mine, or anybody else's kids,' he said. Other members of Blessence's family mourned her at the vigil, but did not speak publicly. Robinson, who is also the Etowah County chief deputy coroner, explained the series of events that led to the body's discovery. He explained in a video on his social media pages that he returned from the scene of a death about 8pm on Friday and left the hearse unlocked. 'We've never had a problem with people going into our cars at the office. I laid the keys down where the keys go and out the door I went,' he said. Blount arrived about 11.30am and noticed what he thought was a doll in the back of the hearse as he was about to move it into the shed. When he opened the hearse and took a closer look, he discovered to his horror that it was the toddler's body. 'To see that and to see my employee in disbelief, I was lost for words when I put the call out to the police department,' Robinson said. 'It's pathetic. Whoever done this, whoever is behind it, turn yourselves in... We want justice for this baby. Babies do not ask to be here. 'To do this... you're sick in the head. 'I've walked into homes every day, I've walked up to car wreck every day, I walk into suicides throughout the year, I walk into homicides throughout the year, I have seen kids pass away. 'But to see something like this really sent me into another level of shock.' Robinson said he would make sure Blessence got a proper burial. 'Whoever this family is, whoever done this, we're going to bury this baby,' he said. 'We're going to give this baby the proper burial. To have life taken so early, we're going to stand up and bury this baby.'
Yahoo
11-08-2025
- Yahoo
Mom Arrested After 1-Year-Old Baby Girl Is Found Dead in a Funeral Home's Hearse
Terica Pearl, 29, was arrested in connection with the alleged murder of 1-year-old Blessence Pearl on Sunday, Aug. 10NEED TO KNOW An infant was found dead in a hearse at West Gadsden Funeral Home in Gadsden, Alabama, on Saturday, Aug. 9, The child's mother, Terica Pearl, 29, was arrested a day later in connection with the child's alleged murder, according to arrest records obtained by PEOPLE "The memory of this child will remain with us...' the Gadsden Police Department said in a statement, per The Gadsden TimesA mother has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a dead baby was found inside a hearse at a funeral home in Alabama. At around 11:45 a.m. local time on Saturday, Aug. 9, the body of 1-year-old Blessence Pearl was discovered in the back of a hearse by the staff at West Gadsden Funeral Home in Gadsden, The Gadsden Times and WBRC 6 News reported, citing the Gadsden Police Department. Police responded to the scene with their patrol division after being contacted by the funeral home, where they found Blessence not in a casket, per the outlets. The child's death is being investigated as a homicide. Terica Pearl, 29, who is the infant's mother, was arrested in connection with her alleged murder at 1:48 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 10, and is being held at Etowah County Jail without bond, according to arrest records obtained by PEOPLE. Funeral home staff had just returned from an appointment on Saturday when they noticed what initially appeared to be a doll in the hearse, but soon realized it was a baby, WBRC 6 News reported. 'I got a call from one of my employees,' funeral home owner Dantez Robinson told the outlet. 'They were getting ready last night, we went out on a pickup and this morning we get back. He was getting ready to do some grounds work, and we got back to find an infant baby inside one of the hearses.' The Gadsden Police Department said in a statement, "The memory of this child will remain with us, and we will continue to stand for justice in every case, no matter how difficult,' per The Gadsden Times. Lieutenant Dusty Ford added, 'In under 12 hours, the investigation moved from uncertainty to an arrest,' per WBRC 6 News. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Local mayor Craig Ford described the situation as 'a tough case for everybody involved.' 'I'm proud of the way our police department went after the truth and got it done,' he told WBRC 6 News. ' An arrest doesn't take away the hurt, but it does mean we're one step closer to justice for this child.' The Gadsden Police Department and Etowah County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on Monday, Aug. 11. Read the original article on People
