DNA results confirm remains are Searcy toddler Malik Drummond

Malik Drummond on the Searcy PD's Facebook page
Malik Drummond on the Searcy PD's Facebook page

Remains found in Jackson County more than a year after 2-year-old Malik Drummond's disappearance have been confirmed as those of the toddler, Searcy police said Friday.

In a news release, police said DNA results from the state Crime Laboratory "have now confirmed what we have expected."

Malik went missing Nov. 23, 2014, from his father's home in the 700 block of West Park Avenue in Searcy. The remains, confirmed Friday to be Malik, were found Dec. 2 at a vacant lot in Auvergne, south of Newport and about 40 miles northeast of Searcy.

Malik's father, 43-year-old Jeffery Clifton, was arrested shortly before midnight Dec. 1. He is accused of killing his son and hiding the remains, and pleaded not guilty to charges of capital murder and abuse of a corpse in January. Clifton's next pretrial hearing is scheduled for Feb. 22.

Clifton's girlfriend at the time of Malik's disappearance, Lesley Marcotte, 27, of Springdale, told police that Clifton had fatally beaten Malik three days before they reported the toddler missing.

Marcotte faces a charge of hindering apprehension or prosecution in the case. Her next pretrial hearing is March 2, with a trial set for April 12.

Read Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

Information for this report was contributed by Debra Hale-Shelton of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

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