GLUCKSTADT, Miss. — Three young Mississippi men were arrested hours after a 6-year-old boy was found shot dead in his mother's stolen car, and the suspects will be charged with capital murder, authorities said.
Madison County District Attorney Michael Guest announced at a news conference Thursday that authorities plan to charge Byron McBride, D'Allen Washington and Dwan Wakefield in the death of the child.
Authorities found Kingston Frazier shot at least once in the back seat of his mother's stolen car, which Jackson Police Cmdr. Tyree Jones said was abandoned in a muddy ditch about 15 miles north of the city.
Frazier had gone missing after 1 a.m. Thursday when a man was seen on video taking the car from the parking lot of a supermarket in Jackson, the state capital, authorities said. About nine hours later, after a child-abduction alert and widespread publicity, a man reported the missing Toyota Camry was beside a dead-end road in the northern suburb of Gluckstadt.
Authorities publicly disclosed the boy's death Thursday morning while surrounded by grieving family members.
"A 6-year-old is gone," said Kingston's cousin, Kolby Irby. "His mother has to deal with this. That's her baby."
The three suspects were arrested within hours of the child's body being found, authorities said, adding video and a witness helped identify them.
Authorities said Washington and Wakefield are both 17. McBride's age was not immediately released.
In Mississippi, 17-year-olds accused of capital murder are tried as adults. The capital murder charge means prosecutors could seek the death penalty if the three are convicted, Guest said.
The district attorney also said it was possible the charges might change, adding the three are expected to make initial court appearances Monday.