A Philadelphia jury found Dominique Bailey and Kevin Spencer guilty of third-degree murder and related charges after prosecutors said the pair beat 4-year-old Damari Carter to death, lied about a fake car crash and concealed his body in a duffle bag.

PHILADELPHIA — A jury has convicted a mother and her boyfriend of third-degree murder in the 2023 killing of 4-year-old Damari Carter, a developmentally delayed, nonverbal child prosecutors said was repeatedly beaten before his body was hidden in a duffle bag.

Dominique Bailey and Kevin Spencer were convicted Tuesday of third-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal use of a communication facility, false reports to law enforcement, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse, according to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.

Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 4 before Judge Roxanne Covington.

Family Became Suspicious After False Car Crash Story

In 2023, Bailey moved back from Texas to her father’s home in West Philadelphia with Damari.

Prosecutors said Bailey’s father, Frank Bailey, helped care for the boy, but Bailey later moved out after he confronted her about leaving Damari unattended while she visited Spencer.

By late November, around Damari’s fourth birthday, relatives stopped hearing from the child.

In December, friends told Frank Bailey that Dominique Bailey had been telling people Damari had been struck and killed by a car.

Damari’s family did not believe the explanation. They began putting up missing-person posters and contacted local news outlets.

The investigation formally began Dec. 30, 2023, after Philadelphia Special Victims detectives received information about the missing child.

Police Found No Record of Fatal Crash

Detectives contacted hospitals, the medical examiner and the Crash Investigation Unit looking for any record of a 4-year-old boy being struck by a vehicle.

They found none.

Police located Bailey on Jan. 4, 2024.

She initially told detectives she had been walking with Damari when he dropped a toy and was struck by a vehicle near 40th Street and Lancaster Avenue, prosecutors said.

When questioned further, Bailey changed her account and said Spencer had been the last person with Damari.

Detectives later located Spencer, who initially denied knowing the boy.

Prosecutors said both defendants eventually claimed Damari had been struck by a vehicle, taken by ambulance to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and died there.

They also claimed the hospital had lost his body.

Witness Heard Child Crying and Repeated Beatings

A search of the couple’s apartment on the 3800 block of Reno Street found no sign of Damari and no children’s belongings, according to prosecutors.

Investigators later found an eyewitness who reported hearing a child crying and repeated beatings over several days in late November and early December.

The witness began recording the sounds and eventually contacted the Department of Human Services.

Hallway surveillance footage showed Damari entering the apartment for the last time on Dec. 5, prosecutors said.

Video from Dec. 5, 6 and 7 captured audio of Damari crying and being beaten.

On Dec. 8, Spencer was seen leaving the apartment carrying a large trash bag. The following day, prosecutors said he was seen carrying a black Puma duffle bag.

Deleted Videos Showed Damari Injured

A forensic review of the defendants’ phones uncovered deleted videos showing Damari with injuries to his head and face on Dec. 7.

His body was later found inside a black Puma duffle bag, wearing the same clothing seen in those videos.

The medical examiner determined Damari died from homicidal violence.

Krasner Calls Case ‘Particularly Disturbing’

“Every homicide is tragic, but this case is particularly disturbing on so many levels,” District Attorney Larry Krasner said.

“Not only was Damari brutally beaten and killed, but the defendants then lied to their family and law enforcement about what happened in an attempt to escape punishment,” Krasner said.

He credited Assistant District Attorneys John Paul Bezerra and J. Michael Babineau Jr. with securing the convictions.

Bezerra also thanked the witness who came forward and the investigators who worked the case.

“I am thankful for all the people who came forward to speak for this little boy who can’t speak for himself,” Bezerra said.

Babineau said the defendants attempted to erase Damari without consequence.

“The verdict reflects the fact that his life was something precious to his loved ones, and those who took him from the world needed to be held accountable for the pain they caused,” he said.