Update 10:10 a.m. EST Jan. 11: San Antonio police say they have found a body believed to be missing 8-month-old baby King Jay Davila.
The baby's father, Christopher Davila, led police to the baby's body, which was in an open field near the neighborhood where he lived, KSAT-TV reported. Investigators dug up a black backpack that contained the baby's body wrapped in a blanket, according to an arrest affidavit.
Davila was arrested on felony charges of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury - omission, tampering with evidence, felony possession of a firearm and possession with the intent to deliver a controlled substance.
Update 11:45 p.m. EST Jan. 7: San Antonio investigators said at a press conference late Monday they now believe the kidnapping of a baby Friday night at a gas station was staged to look like a crime to cover up foul play, according to news reports.
Police have now identified the woman who authorities initially thought took 8-month-old King Jay Davila from his father’s car, according to KSAT-TV.
"The child was not in the car," Police Chief William McManus told reporters.
“This was not a car theft. This was not a kidnapping. This was a staged event," McManus said. "The woman in the video who took the vehicle is a cousin of Christopher Davila."
The woman has been arrested on an unrelated charge as police continue to search for the child.
Original story:
The father of a missing Texas baby is behind bars as police seek a female suspect in the child's kidnapping.
According to KABB, Christopher Davila, 34, parked his car at a San Antonio gas station Friday night, leaving the door unlocked and his 8-month-old son, King Jay Davila, in the back seat. Moments later, a woman approached the car, which was still running, then got inside and drove away, surveillance video shows.
>> Watch the surveillance video here
Authorities found Davila's car in a nearby park, but the baby and keys were no longer inside, KABB reported.
But San Antonio police believe the case is more than just a random kidnapping. Investigators, who said they think Davila knows the woman in the video, arrested him on a child endangerment charge. They also said Davila's family has not been cooperating with police, according to KSAT.
Davila and his fiancee, Jasmine Gonzales, who is the baby's mother, disputed those claims.
"This is all just ridiculous because the more time they spend trying to accuse people of doing something they did not do, the more time they can be searching for my baby like they claimed they have been," Gonzales told KSAT.
"It is not right," Davila told the station in a phone interview.
Police said the woman in the video "is a thin-built white or Hispanic female" in her 20s or 30s who was wearing a gray hoodie and brown pants. King Jay was dressed in a blue onesie, KABB reported.
>> See a photo of King Jay Davila here
Police are urging anyone with information about the case to call 911 or 201-207-7635. The FBI is also assisting with the investigation, San Antonio police tweeted Saturday.
About the Author
