Body of five-year-old Naveah Lashay Adams is found in a South Carolina landfill two months after her mother was found murdered in their apartment and a man ‘confessed to killing them both’
- After searching through ‘230 tons’ of trash at a landfill site, South Carolina police have found the body of five-year-old, Nevaeh Lashy Adams
- Daunte Maurice Johnson, 28, was arrested two months ago and confessed to the murder of both the child and her mother, Sharee Bradley, 29
- He told police that he had tossed away the girl’s body into a city dumpster which had been taken to a landfill before police could retrieve her
The remains of a missing five-year-old girl have been found on a South Carolina landfill site after a suspect confessed to killing her and her mother and told police he had tossed the child’s corpse in a dumpster.
Authorities launched a rescue mission for Nevaeh Lashy Adams, 5, after a family friend found her mother, Sharee Bradley, 29, dead in her apartment unit with the child nowhere to be seen.
Daunte Maurice Johnson, 28, was arrested when he was spotted running from the scene at Lantana Apartments on Gamecock Village Court in Sumter.
He then confessed to the murder of both Bradley and her daughter, Nevaeh, and a recovery operation for her remains began.
He told authorities that he had tossed Nevaeh’s body in a dumpster, which was emptied to landfill by the time the police could retrieve the little girl.
![Daunte Johnson, 28 (left), is accused of killing five-year-old Nevaeh Adams (right) and the girl's mother in Sumter, South Carolina, on Monday](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/10/23/12/16964702-7604473-Nevaeh_Adams_5-m-45_1571829227682.jpg)
Daunte Johnson, 28 (left), is accused of killing five-year-old Nevaeh Adams (right) and the girl’s mother in Sumter, South Carolina, on Monday
Authorities finally found the remains on Friday through DNA identification after sifting through 230 tons of trash at the site.
Bradley was found dead in her apartment at the beginning of August, with signs of ‘blunt force sharp injuries to the head and to the neck.’
Police have not revealed the extent of the relationship between Johnson and Bradley did say that the pair were ‘acquaintances.’
![Sharee Bradley's body was found by a relative inside her apartment, but her daughter (right) was nowhere to be found](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/10/23/11/16965756-7328839-Sharee_Bradley_s_body_was_found_by_a_relative_inside_her_apartme-a-3_1571826102294.jpg)
Sharee Bradley’s body was found by a relative inside her apartment, but her daughter (right) was nowhere to be found
![Sharee Bradley](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/10/23/12/16965760-7604473-Sharee_Bradley-m-29_1571828657879.jpg)
Police say Johnson described as a transient, knew Bradley (right). The 28-year-old murder suspect has criminal records in other states
![Police say Johnson confessed to killing Nevaeh alongside her mother. A search for the five-year-old's body is underway](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/10/23/12/16965766-7604473-Police_say_Johnson_confessed_to_killing_Nevaeh_alongside_her_mot-m-38_1571829067558.jpg)
Police say Johnson confessed to killing Nevaeh alongside her mother. A search for the five-year-old’s body is underway
Sumter Police spokeswoman Tonyia McGirt said officers arrested Johnson, described as a transient, after he was seen running away from Bradley’s home.
Before police announced that Nevaeh was presumed dead, her father, Dupray Adams, made a plea for her safe return.
‘I haven’t slept, I can’t eat, that’s my baby, this is my last baby,’ Adams told ABC10. ‘I would never think that this would happen to me.’
In a separate interview with WIS-TV, Adams described Nevaeh as a ‘wonderful child’ who was a tap dancer and aspired to become a gymnast.
![A coroner said Bradley (pictured with Nevaeh) had been dead for several hours before her body was found](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/10/23/11/16965752-7328839-A_coroner_said_Bradley_pictured_with_Nevaeh_had_been_dead_for_se-a-6_1571826102546.jpg)
A coroner said Bradley (pictured with Nevaeh) had been dead for several hours before her body was found
‘She’s just an excellent daughter,’ he said of the girl. ‘When she was born, she never cried. She was just so precious.’
According to police, Johnson has criminal records in other states, including a murder in Missouri.
In 2015, he was arrested in Charlotte, North Carolina, on a misdemeanor count of assault on a female.
Johnson was picked up again in March 2018 for allegedly violating a protective order.