Despite arrest, family wants Baby Delano’s body found
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – A five-month long search for a missing baby continues, but police believe the man responsible is now behind bars.
Willie Wilson was arrested and charged with murder Wednesday. Police believe he is responsible for the death of his 6-week old son, Delano Wilson. The infant’s body hasn’t been found.
24-Hour News 8 spoke with a close family friend Wednesday evening. She said everyone in the home is shocked and emotionally torn. They’re glad that after so many months an arrest has been made and they appreciate the police department’s hard work. But they still wonder if Delano is alive or dead and where he might be.
“I want there to be peace, I want him to be brought home, whichever way that may be,” said family friend Lethrice Hamilton. “But we would like to have him back so that we can have our lives back.”
Standing in the cold along the very block investigators canvassed months earlier looking for 6-week-old Delano, Hamilton had one request for Wilson.
“I just want him to be honest,” she pleaded.
Wilson is charged with murdering his infant son last August. Back then, police were investigating the case as an abduction after Wilson said he was pistol whipped outside his home and his child ripped from his arms.
But after months of collecting evidence, investigators didn’t buy the story. Police searched the neighborhood and nearby woods for evidence, but they also searched Wilson’s phone.
According to court documents, they found Internet searches on child abductions and missing infants. Police also checked surveillance video from the area where Delano was allegedly kidnapped. In the video they said Wilson wasn’t holding a child.
Court documents note Delano’s mother, Taniasha Perkins, was skeptical too.
“From the beginning Taniasha has always said if he did it, lock him up,” said Hamilton.
“She has always said that, she has always asked Willie continuously ‘What did you do? What happened that day? Walk me through it. Are you lying to me?’”
Despite her reservations, Hamilton said Perkins stood by Wilson’s side. His arrest Wednesday was painful for the family, but it also gave them some closure. And though prosecutors believe Delano is dead, his family just wants him found.
“We want him back, that’s the bottom line. If Willie has to go down for it, if he did it, like I said that’s up to him and God now,” said Hamilton.
Wilson is scheduled to appear in court at 2 p.m. Thursday. Online court records show no bond has been set.
