Jaydah Westmoreland was charged with first-degree murder of her mother, Delila Nicole Westmoreland, 41, and the kidnapping of her 2-year-old sibling. (Screenshot from Central North Carlina’s ABC affiliate WTVD-TV)
A 19-year-old woman has been charged with fatally shooting her mother and kidnapping her 2-year-old sibling in North Carolina.
Jaydah Westmoreland was charged with first-degree murder of her mother, Delila Nicole Westmoreland, 41, and kidnapping the toddler in the Monday incident at an apartment in Hillsborough, outside Durham, police said in a news release.
She was held without bond at the Orange County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 28. If convicted of the murder charge, she could face the death penalty or life in prison.
Westmoreland’s public defender didn’t immediately return an email from Law&Crime seeking comment on Wednesday.
Police found the victim — shot multiple times — during a welfare check Monday night. The victim’s 2-year-old was missing. Police learned that bullets had entered a neighboring apartment, but no one was inside at the time, officials said.
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A male caller identifying himself as a child of the victim called 911 saying the victim was on the floor in her room. The victim’s son told 911 he didn’t know what happened, did not mention his mother had been shot, and said that no one was there who could perform CPR, the News&Observer reported.
Once at the home, an investigator noted “a pack of 22 rounds in a pocketbook here, and it’s missing quite a few (rounds),” the newspaper reported, citing Hillsborough police radio communications.
Police found the toddler safe and the suspect at a home in nearby Durham, authorities said.
The child was turned over to family members, and Jaydah Westmoreland was arrested with the help of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Durham County Sheriff’s Office.
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