A 19-year-old woman has been charged with the murder in the death of a 5-year-old boy. The boy was initially believed to be abducted by home intruders from in upstate NY, according to the woman’s false account.
An amber alert (pictured, below) was issued yesterday for Kenneth White after a 19-year-old babysitter reported him abducted from an Albany area home.
A K-9 unit located White’s body, concealed in a ditch and “intentionally covered with snow.” It was found across the street from the trailer in which Show lived with his twin brother, sister, and legal guardians.
Tiffany VanAlstyne was charged with second-degree murder in the boy’s death after her account of the story did not add up. She is the daughter of White’s legal guardian and was step-sister to the boy.
Tiffany VanAlstyne, 19, now charged with 2nd degree murder in connection with death of Kenneth White, 5, of Berne. pic.twitter.com/FhLVQnOO1t
— WNYT NewsChannel 13 (@WNYT) December 19, 2014
Kenneth White’s body was strangled to death, according to Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple. It was a “senseless death,” he said, adding that the boy’s body was simply “thrown away like a piece of trash.”
“It’s simple and it’s sad,” Apple added in a press conference on Friday. “This was not an abduction. The investigation is not over yet. We still have some leads to follow up on.”
Tiffany VanAlstyine, a resident of neighboring Byrne, initially told police that two men had entered her house, pinned her to the floor, and took the child at about 1:30 p.m. on Thursday. She reported that the men drove away in a pickup truck.
News of the boy’s death shocked local residents, a town described by Apple as a close-knit community where everyone knows everyone.
A motive for the boy’s murder has not yet been determined.
Photos: Albany County Sheriff and Anna Meller
