Child found dead inside duffel bag in March identified as missing 4-year-old boy

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Police have identified the child found inside a duffel bag in West Philadelphia in March as 4-year-old Damari Carter, who was reported missing three months earlier.

The child’s decomposed body was found stuffed in a duffel bag at 38th Street and Haverford Avenue on March 18. Investigators had been looking for the boy ever since his mother told family members in December 2023 that he had been hit and killed by a car.

Family members were suspicious of her story and went to the authorities. Officers brought the mother, 28-year-old Dominique Bailey, in for questioning, who then “provided information on her involvement in the child’s death.” Police said they found evidence that led them to believe the child was killed inside the home.

Detectives eventually brought Bailey’s 30-year-old boyfriend, Kevin Spencer, in for questioning as well, and the two were charged with murder, abuse of corpse, and related offenses .

The child’s body was still missing up until March 18, when sanitation workers found a duffel bag with human remains in it.

Sources said clothing on the child’s body matched what Damari was last seen wearing on Dec. 30, and they were able to positively identify the 4-year-old through DNA.

A preliminary hearing for Bailey and Spencer is set for next month.