A New Jersey man is accused of killing his girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter in 2019, and disposing of her body, prosecutors said.
Police in Edison were contacted by the Division of Child Protection and Permanency to conduct a welfare check on Monique Durham's twin 5-year-old daughters, the Middlesex County Prosecutor's office said. After getting in contact with the girls' mother, a joint investigation into the matter was launched, which found that one of the young daughters was missing.
Investigators also found that no family or friends had seen the child since 2019, according to the prosecutor's office.
It was later determined that Durham's boyfriend, Matthew Chiles, caused the child's death in that year, and then illegally disposed of the body, law enforcement said. No further details regarding the child's death, including timing and circumstances surrounding it, were released, nor was the victim's name.
Get Philly local news, weather forecasts, sports and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia newsletters.
The 29-year-old Chiles, of Perth Amboy, was charged with first-degree murder, desecration of human remains and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office. Durham also faces charges, including theft and endangering the welfare of a child.
Both Chiles and Durham were being held at Middlesex County Adult Correctional Center pending a detention hearing, prosecutors said. Attorney information for the pair was not immediately clear.
Anyone with information regarding the child's death is asked to contact Perth Amboy or Edison police.
