A 5-Year-Old Girl Was Found Encased In Concrete In 1988. Her Mother Was Just Arrested For Her Death.

 A mother and her former live-in boyfriend have been arrested after the remains of a 5-year-old girl found encased in concrete in 1988 were identified.

Evelyn Odom, 56, and Ulyster Sanders, 61, were arrested and charged with felony murder, cruelty to children in the first degree, aggravated battery – family violence, concealing the death of another person, and conspiracy to commit concealing the death of another person, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said in a press release.

On December 21, 1988, road workers found the remains of a 5-year-old girl encased in concrete and left inside an old television cabinet, HuffPost reported. Investigators tried to identify the child at the time using available forensic testing and reaching out to local organizations, along with seeking the public’s help through the media, but for 35 years, the girl’s identity remained unknown.

In 2019, GBI agents started to look into whether it was possible to identify the young girl using genealogy, which has helped identify victims – and criminals – in the past. Genealogy services were able to identify a family tree from the Albany, New York, area. They also received a tip from someone following a 2022 story on the anniversary of the child’s death, which led to the victim being identified as Kenyatta “KeKe” Odom. The tipster thought she could identify KeKe’s mother as the alleged killer, after Odom told the woman that KeKe had left to live with her father back in 1988.

Further investigation led investigators to KeKe’s mother, Evelyn Odom, and Sanders, her live-in boyfriend at the time of the murder. Odom and Sanders allegedly submerged parts of KeKe’s body in hot water, which killed her and disfigured her legs and feet, according to an indictment obtained by HuffPost. The couple allegedly then dumped the child’s body in an “undeveloped location” in order to conceal it.

GBI Special Agent in Charge Jason Seacrist said at a press conference on Monday that KeKe’s remains had been wrapped in a blanket and stuffed in a duffel bag that was then encased in concrete and placed inside a TV cabinet.

 

“Baby Jane Doe is no longer unnamed, is no longer unknown,” Seacrist said at the press conference, according to the Associated Press. “The baby that was thrown out into a trash pile has been identified, and we’re working to bring justice to her.”