Malachi Lawson, Missing Baltimore 4-Year-Old, Found Dead

BALTIMORE — Baltimore Police said missing 4-year-old Malachi Lawson has been found dead in a trash bin with obvious signs of injuries and his mother faces criminal charges.

After extensive talks with the boy's mother, she acknowledged Malachi was not missing, but rather that he died. She also told detectives where they could find his body.

"It's with a heavy heart we bring you this news," police Commissioner Michael Harrison said at a news conference.

The biological mother and her partner were to be charged Saturday with child neglect resulting in the death of a minor. Details about the child's injuries weren't immediately released.

Malachi's body was taken to the medical examiner's office where a cause of death will be determined. Further charges could be possible, police said.

Officials previously said the child, who had mild autism, was last seen Thursday afternoon walking away from the front door of his home on the 4500 block of North Rogers Avenue. The FBI joined the search Friday.

Malachi walked with a limp stemming from a broken femur bone he suffered as an infant, Harrison said Friday, according to the Baltimore Sun.

The Baltimore office of the FBI tweeted Saturday it "shares in the sorrow the Baltimore community is feeling" regarding the child's death.

"We would like to join our partners at the @BaltimorePolice and thank everyone for their assistance since his disappearance on Thursday," the FBI wrote.