Philly foster mother charged in girl's killing had been flagged as unfit to foster, records show

State officials who reviewed a near-fatal abuse case involving a child in Carprice Williams' foster home five years ago concluded she should 'never be used as a foster parent for other children in the future.' That review came before Malayshia Alford's body turned up in the trunk of a car in Lindenwold, New Jersey. Malayshia was placed with her anyway — and, according to prosecutors, was killed there.

Williams, a Philadelphia public school teacher, was charged with murder, endangering the welfare of a child, tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse, and related offenses in the death of her 10-year-old foster daughter. Malayshia had been in her care for about a year when Williams reported her missing on October 26. Her body was recovered ten days later, on a Wednesday night, inside a silver 2011 Lincoln MKZ in Lindenwold. An autopsy determined she died from blunt force trauma; her death was ruled a homicide.

Now, court records unearthed by the Philadelphia Inquirer reveal that Williams had a documented history of child abuse that predated Malayshia's placement — raising urgent questions about how Philadelphia's child welfare system allowed her to remain a foster parent.

In January 2021, Williams brought a 4-year-old girl in her care to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, saying she had heard a loud noise and found the child collapsed on the floor. According to the Inquirer, the treating physician found the girl to be malnourished and to have sustained a traumatic brain injury, facial scrapes, and marks suggesting she had been struck with an object — injuries serious enough that the doctor classified the case as a 'near fatality,' a designation that requires mandatory review by state and city officials. The girl subsequently described a pattern of abuse by Williams: having her braids grabbed while her head was driven into the kitchen floor, being beaten with a belt, being struck in the face until her mouth bled, and being made to hold a squat against a wall for long stretches at a time.

Pennsylvania's Department of Human Services found that Williams had abused the girl and her sibling, who had both been placed in Williams' home at 547 N. Simpson St. in June 2020, according to the Inquirer. After reviewing the case, a panel made up of city and state officials concluded that Williams should not be permitted to take in foster children again. A lawsuit filed in 2024 by the law firm Kline & Specter on behalf of the younger girl against Tabor Children's Services — a social work agency contracted by the city — was settled out of court for $2 million this year.

One factor complicates the picture, however: Williams challenged the state's findings, and a state official told the Inquirer that the indicated report of child abuse was subsequently expunged. It is not clear from available records how that expungement affected her eligibility to foster.

If [the near-fatality review panel] walked away with a recommendation that she should never be a foster parent, it's hard to understand how she then was a foster parent again.— Cathleen Palm, leader of the Center for Children's Justice

A state spokesperson said Malayshia's care had been the responsibility of Catholic Community Services, a separate social work agency also under contract with the city's child welfare agency. Williams took Malayshia in last summer — a year after the 2024 lawsuit was filed — and a law enforcement source cited by the Inquirer said Malayshia was the sole foster child in the home, where she lived alongside Williams' 4-year-old biological son. When contacted, Philadelphia's Department of Human Services offered no comment. Messages left for a community liaison at Catholic Community Services went unanswered.

We are trying to understand how this could have happened.— Nadeem Bezar, attorney with Kline & Specter, representing Malayshia's estate

According to a detailed arrest report obtained by NBC10, the investigation began on October 26 at 5:13 p.m. when officers were dispatched to Williams' home on the 500 block of North Simpson Street after she reported the girl missing. Williams told officers the girl never came home from school and was not answering her phone, and that school employees said Malayshia never boarded the bus. She also claimed she had received text messages from Malayshia saying she was with her biological family.

Investigators later determined Malayshia had not been at school from Friday, October 23, through Monday, October 26. When confronted with this, Williams claimed the school had never notified her of the absences and said Malayshia had left for school on October 23 but left her phone at home. Phone records belonging to both Malayshia and Williams were subsequently subpoenaed and analyzed after the FBI entered the investigation.

Among the messages investigators examined was one sent from Malayshia's phone to Williams' phone on October 26 at 3:23 p.m.

Mommy, I know you are waiting for me to come home but my family they don't want me to be adopted and I just wish we can all be together I love you and [redacted] so much and ya'll have been the best family to me but I just really want to see how it feels please don't be mad and I'm sorry mommy so sorry I love you mommy.— Text message sent from Malayshia Alford's phone to Carprice Williams' phone, Oct. 26

Investigators later concluded Williams had used Malayshia's phone to send those messages to herself in order to mislead investigators, according to NBC10.

On November 3, police spoke with two juvenile witnesses who said they had seen Williams physically abuse Malayshia during visits to the home. Among the abuse they described: Williams striking the girl with a phone cord, throwing her down the stairs, and making her climb and descend the stairs repeatedly while wearing a heavy vest. The witnesses said they observed a bloated and puffy leg and deep cuts on Malayshia's hands. They also said Williams punished the girl by withholding food and drink and requiring her to ask permission to use the bathroom. The witnesses said Williams had also physically abused them — one said Williams bent their fingers back; the other said Williams directed her biological son to strike them with a sword, according to the arrest report obtained by NBC10.

On what turned out to be their final visit to the home, on October 24, the witnesses recalled finding Malayshia motionless in bed, her arm pinned behind her back. No matter how many times they called her name, she neither moved nor responded.

Surveillance video obtained by investigators on November 4 showed activity outside Williams' home at 1:52 a.m. on October 26: footage captured someone hauling a large bag out of the residence, loading it into the back seat of a black Escalade, and driving off. According to a law enforcement source cited by the Inquirer, the bag had been used to store a Christmas tree. Police identified the person as one of Williams' family members and interviewed them.

You want me to say that I killed the kid and put her in the ground. You want me to tell you and then my life is ruined. You have to give me some time because I'm not doing it tonight.— Williams' family member, to investigators, per arrest report

The family member later led investigators to 1800 Laurel Road in Lindenwold, New Jersey, where Malayshia's body was found inside the silver Lincoln MKZ. Malayshia's remains and her backpack had been placed in two trash bags, which were then put inside a large tote bag. Investigators noted signs of decomposition, multiple whip-like markings on her legs, thighs, and buttocks, and a fractured rib, according to NBC10.

The family member told investigators they had received a text from Williams on October 25 asking them to come to the Simpson Street home. When they arrived, Williams told them Malayshia 'never woke up' and that it was too late to call police. The family member said they later drove the bag to their home in Lindenwold and transferred it to the trunk of the Lincoln, which they owned.

Williams was located by police and the FBI on November 5 at a home on Overbrook Avenue in Philadelphia. When investigators spoke with her, she said Malayshia had been behaving differently and acting out in the period before her death, and she attributed those changes to stomach problems and an approaching court date.

Bezar said he had been looking into how Malayshia came to be placed with Williams in the first place, given that the state Department of Human Services had previously determined she suffered physical and sexual abuse in an earlier foster home — circumstances that ultimately resulted in her transfer to Williams' care. Palm also raised questions about whether the Philadelphia School District, where Williams held a teaching position, had ever been informed of her history of abuse findings. A district spokesperson would not discuss personnel matters but conveyed that the district was 'heartbroken' by Malayshia's death.

Williams is being held without bail. The case has intensified scrutiny of Philadelphia's child welfare contracting system, in which multiple private agencies — known as Community Umbrella Agencies — are responsible for monitoring children in foster care on behalf of the city.

Why it matters — The case exposes potential gaps in Philadelphia's foster care oversight system — specifically how a woman a state panel deemed unfit to foster was later entrusted with a vulnerable child's care.

Sources differ on Williams' age: 36 (nbcphiladelphia.com) vs 34 (inquirer.com)

Reported by nbcphiladelphia.com, inquirer.com