Pasadena father charged with capital murder following disappearance of 2-year-old Nadia Lee
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- After weeks and weeks of searching, there are new developments in the case of a missing 2-year-old. Despite extensive searching, Nadia Lee has not been found, but her father is now charged with capital murder in connection with her death.
"I am elated and hope he gets exactly what he deserves," Nora Reed, Nadia's grandmother, said. "I hope he gets exactly what he deserves. I don't want him to ever get out of prison. I hope he gets the death penalty."
Nadia hasn't been seen since about Oct. 16. Police believe Jyron Charles Lee, 26, inflicted such severe injuries on his daughter that he caused her death around that time.
While Nadia's body has not been found, charging documents detail the evidence prosecutors say they have against Lee.
According to court records, investigators recovered a stroller, washcloth, kids' mattress, multiple towels, and child and adult clothing, all with possible blood. The washcloth collected from the bathroom and samples collected from the mattress were later confirmed to test positive as blood.
After Lee's cellphone was extracted, investigators said they made notable findings in the Google search history such as, "Is whooping your child a sin," and "In the Bible, is it a sin not to spank a misbehaving child?" A search was made on Oct. 17 for, "How long it takes for a dead body to smell."
Investigators found pictures on his cell phone of injuries to Nadia's face. Documents said there is a picture of his daughter lying face down in a Minnie Mouse bed with apparent stains around the area of her mouth consistent with vomit and/or blood.
Houston police issued a missing persons report for Nadia, and Texas EquuSearch volunteers immediately searched around the apartment complex on S. Richey Street in Pasadena where she was last seen. In the weeks that have followed, they have expanded the search to area parks and waterways, and a landfill on Highway 6 in Alvin, Texas.
"I don't think this is going to have a positive outcome we would like to have. One of my biggest fears is there may not be an outcome," Tim Miller, the founder of Texas EquuSearch, said at the onset of the search.
Nadia's body has not been recovered.
"I would love to find her body so we can put her to rest, but if we don't, we are never going to forget her," Nora Reed said. "If I wasn't in a wheelchair, I'd be out there, looking for that baby myself."
Nadia's father, Lee, was earlier charged with murder in the death of her mother, his common-law wife, Nancy Reed. Lee is accused of strangling Reed, 22, at a Clear Lake hotel on Bay Area Boulevard late Tuesday, Oct. 18.
Two of the couple's children, ages 1 and 3, were present at the time of the murder. They were not physically injured and were turned over to CPS custody. Family members confirmed the couple has five children together.
As a part of their investigation into the murder of Reed, police said they received information about a missing child, later determined to be Nadia.
"Another thing that is so hard, is that he did this with his own hands," Nora Reed said. "He killed my daughter with his bare hands. That hurts a lot, I can't imagine. I don't even want to know what he did to Nadia. Only he knows what happened."
Relatives told ABC13 they were trying to help Reed escape what they felt was an abusive domestic relationship. They didn't have much contact with the children and couldn't provide information about Nadia's disappearance.
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