Foster Mother Caprice Williams Charged With Murder After Malayshia Alford Found in Lindenwold

Philadelphia prosecutors on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, charged the foster mother of 10-year-old Malayshia Alford with murder after the girl’s body was found in the trunk of a car in Lindenwold, New Jersey, according to District Attorney Larry Krasner and local reporting from CBS Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Inquirer and WHYY.

Caprice Williams, 36 — spelled Carprice in some local accounts — faces murder and related felony counts, officials said at a Thursday night news conference. The case remains under active investigation. Details that have not been confirmed in court filings or by prosecutors are not repeated here.

What prosecutors announced

Assistant District Attorney Ashley Toczylowski said investigators believe Malayshia was last seen alive on Oct. 22 at a home on the 500 block of North Simpson Street in West Philadelphia, CBS Philadelphia and the Inquirer reported. She was not reported missing until Oct. 26.

According to those outlets, authorities later recovered surveillance video that appeared to show a body being removed from the home shortly before 2 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 26. That led investigators to a vehicle and a person who directed them to Lindenwold. Police located Malayshia’s body around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, near the Stonington Court Apartments, prosecutors said.

A New Jersey medical examiner’s preliminary examination found the cause of death was blunt-force trauma and ruled the manner of death a homicide, the Inquirer and NBC Philadelphia affiliates covering the same briefing reported. Toczylowski said there were indications of physical abuse but declined to detail injuries or instruments in public remarks.

Williams was charged with murder, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal use of a communication facility, possession of an instrument of crime, reckless endangerment, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse, according to NBC10 Philadelphia’s summary of the charges. Krasner said there would be a “just and vigorous prosecution” and that more details would follow as the case advances.

How the search unfolded

Community members, Philadelphia police and the FBI spent days searching for Malayshia after she was reported missing. Family members told reporters that Williams had claimed the child went to her biological mother’s home; relatives said the biological mother did not have visitation rights and that Malayshia was not there, CBS Philadelphia reported.

On Wednesday night, search efforts focused on a West Philadelphia field and Cobbs Creek Park area without finding her, according to the Inquirer and NBC10. The Lindenwold discovery came later that night after the surveillance lead.

Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said at the briefing that Malayshia “deserved safety” and “a chance to grow up,” the Inquirer reported. Mayor Cherelle Parker said in a statement that the girl’s death had “shaken me to my core” and pledged a thorough investigation. City Council President Kenyatta Johnson called for a hard look at the systems entrusted with her care.

Name and spelling notes

Prosecutors clarified that the child’s first name is Malayshia Alford; earlier missing-person materials had used Jalayshia, CBS Philadelphia noted. Some outlets also vary the last-name spelling (Alford / Allford) and Williams’s first name (Caprice / Carprice). This account follows the spellings used in Krasner’s Thursday briefing coverage by CBS Philadelphia and WHYY for Caprice Williams and Malayshia Alford, while noting the reported variants.

Williams works as a teacher in the School District of Philadelphia, according to payroll records cited by the Inquirer. A district spokesperson expressed condolences for Malayshia’s death as a Robert E. Lamberton student and did not address Williams in that statement, referring further questions to police.

What is still unknown

Prosecutors have not publicly detailed a motive, a full medical examiner’s report or whether additional people will face charges. Krasner declined to answer that question at the briefing, the Inquirer reported. The Inquirer, citing anonymous law-enforcement sources, said at least one other person was questioned about helping dispose of the remains; that claim has not been confirmed in charging documents described at the public press conference and should be treated as developing.

Neighbors and community advocates described grief and anger outside the West Philadelphia home. Pastor Alyn Waller of Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church told the Thursday gathering that the city is judged by how its children fare, WHYY reported.

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