PASADENA, Texas – The body of a child, believed to be missing 2-year-old Nadia Lee, was found Monday in a bayou in the Pasadena area, according to the Houston Police Department.
“Based on information obtained throughout the investigation and circumstances in which the remains were recovered, it is believed the remains are of 2-year-old Nadia Lee. However, the official identification is pending autopsy results,” Houston police wrote in a news release.
Nadia was the daughter of 26-year-old Jyron Charles Lee, who was arrested and charged with murder after reportedly choking his 22-year-old wife Nancy Reed to death during a dispute about the way she disciplined their other child on Oct. 19, 2022, according to Houston police.
Nadia was last seen near the 300 block of South Richey Road in Pasadena on Oct. 16 at around 8 p.m. near her father’s apartment.
Tim Miller, founder of Texas EquuSearch, told KPRC 2′s Taisha Walker in October that Lee apparently checked Nadia out of foster care on Oct. 14 and never returned her.
But according to Lee, Nadia disappeared while he was taking out the trash at his apartment complex.
“I just thought it would turn into one of those cases that we would never find her,” Nadia’s aunt, Delia Reed, said. “Only thing we would hear is that her body was dumped in the dumpster.”
When authorities first learned of Nadia’s disappearance, Miller said they interviewed Lee and asked him questions about his daughter, and he said he didn’t report the girl missing because he believed she was with her mom.
Hours later, authorities said Lee was no longer cooperating with investigators about the whereabouts of Nadia, and DNA evidence found inside his apartment had them believing the girl may be dead.
“We observed a small child’s mattress on the floor of the closet with what appeared to be blood near the headboard of the bed and a rag with apparent blood on it in the bathroom on the floor,” the prosecutor said.
Authorities believe Nadia was killed on or around Oct. 16 in the 331 block of South Richey Street in Pasadena.
On Dec. 6, 2022, Lee was charged with capital murder in connection to Nadia’s death. His bond for both charges, Nadia’s case and Nancy’s, is set at a combined total of $1.85 million.
“I’m glad the day is finally here, I am, so we don’t have to live each day not knowing and wondering and wishing and thinking,” Delia said. “He’s where he is, he’s getting what he deserves. My sister is where she is and now the baby can join her.”
Houston police are now waiting on autopsy results to identify the remains.
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