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Byron McDonald II, 27, first shot Tamara Aikens, 50, to death in a drive-by before gunning down the boy's mom -- Morgan Braxton, 25, also Aikens’ daughter -- inside her North 8th Street home on April 12, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office said.
According to video evidence obtained by police, McDonald was seen firing multiple rounds at Aikens' North Bancroft Street home through the passenger window while driving a red Chevy Malibu that was registered to Braxton on April 9, the DA's office said.
On April 11, a missing person’s report was filed with Philadelphia police for Braxton, and a day later, after a relative told police they feared for Braxton’s safety because of her relationship with McDonald, police entered her home and found her dead with gunshots to the head, authorities said.
The discovery then triggered an Amber Alert for 3-year-old Byron McDonald on April 12, authorities said.
Investigators were able to locate McDonald after Braxton's red Chevy Malibu was spotted at Aloft Hotel near Philadelphia International Airport, the DA's office said.
McDonald also used Braxton's credit card to rent a room, which was registered to his mother, authorities said.
Following a brief SWAT standoff, McDonald and his mother were taken into custody without incident, and the child was safely recovered, the DA's office said.
While the deaths of Aikens and Braxton were still being investigated, the Philadelphia District Attorney's office charged McDonald with possession with intent to deliver, conspiracy, and endangering the welfare of a child, in connection with the Amber Alert incident, authorities said.
After homicide detectives obtained ballistics evidence, cell phone records, additional video surveillance, and other information, the DA's office charged McDonald on Thursday with murder and related charges for the deaths of Braxton and Aikens, authorities said.
“Thanks to diligent investigation by the Philadelphia Police, my office is prepared to make sure Byron McDonald is held accountable for murdering Morgan Braxton and Tamara Aikens,” DA Larry Krasner said in a statement.
“Our hearts are broken for the toddler who lost his mother and grandmother to such unspeakable horror. What this child needs right now is beyond the scope of the criminal justice system to deliver in a courtroom.
"We as a city, as a community, owe a collective responsibility to the children most traumatized by violence. It is on all of us to make sure this child and all children touched by violence are not defined by the worst day of their young lives.”
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