A Bronx, N.Y., father was arrested and charged with bludgeoning his pregnant daughter to death and then trying to hide her body in a grave dug in the basement of their home, police said Wednesday, the New York Post reports.
William Caruth faces charges of murder and manslaughter in the death of his 39-year-old daughter, Andrea Caruth, over what police say was an ongoing dispute about money.
The body of the day care operator was discovered early Wednesday morning under a pile of plywood, gravel and cement in the basement of the home she shared with her father and her boyfriend. Andrea Caruth had been reported missing since the weekend before.
Police sources told the Post that the slaying appeared to have been well-planned because Andrea Caruth’s father allegedly hollowed out the concrete into a makeshift grave before she died. She was five months pregnant.
According to Post sources, authorities say they believe that on Sunday morning, Andrea Caruth went down to the basement to change a light bulb when her father, who lived in the basement, started an argument with her before allegedly killing her. It was Andrea Caruth’s boyfriend, 44-year-old Lincoln Grant, who reported her missing after he could not find her Sunday. Grant was also questioned by police officers before being released. In addition, Grant later gave cops permission to search the home, which was also where Caruth ran her day care.
According to the Post, police were first unable to find evidence pointing to the body, but eventually began to be more sure of foul play and went back to search the property with cadaver dogs, eventually uncovering Caruth’s body, which was partially covered under the pile of rubble.
“She was just starting life,” Syndey Jones, who sent her kids to Andrea Caruth’s day care, told the Post. “That’s the beginning of your life, when you’re having a child. And to know that she was just killed over—what? It doesn’t make any sense.
“She had never taken a day off,” Jones added. “She’s the kind of teacher who would be there on Christmas Eve and just always be there for the kids. I knew as soon as I heard [she wasn’t at work] that something was funny. I do try to keep my faith, but something in my heart just didn’t sit well. I’m like, something happened to her.”