COLUMBUS, Ga. — A 5-year-old girl from west Georgia reported missing has been found dead in Alabama.
Columbus police department issued a critical missing child alert for 5-year-old Kamarie Holland on Monday. Holland was last seen that morning near Bowman Street in Columbus. The Russell County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to Channel 2′s ABC affiliate WTVM that Holland’s body was found in Alabama.
At a news conference Tuesday, investigators named Jeremy Williams as the suspect. He is charged with capital murder in Alabama, where the case will remain.
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Columbus police received a call Monday morning from Holland’s mother after she discovered the 5-year-old was not inside their home when she woke up.
Columbus police identified Williams as a suspect in Holland’s kidnapping and reached out to Russell County Sheriff’s Office for assistance. Investigators tracked Williams down to the Bamboo Hotel in Phenix City where he was staying with his uncle. The hotel told police they had been there for 30 minutes before police arrived.
Agents went to a former address in Phenix City that belonged to Williams. That is where Holland’s body was found.
Sheriff Taylor said the cause of death appears at this time to be asphyxiation but investigators are waiting on autopsy results. Taylor said there also appeared to be some kind of sexual abuse but they are waiting for the autopsy to confirm.
Police said it appeared Holland’s mother and the suspect knew each other, but did not say how.
Williams had been arrested for sexual abuse in the past, including 2009. He was later acquitted by a jury in 2012.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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