Murder suspect arrested days after young boy's body found near dumpster in Panorama City, LAPD says
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Days after the body of a 5-year-old boy was found near a dumpster in Panorama City, a suspect has been arrested on suspicion of murder in the case, authorities said Wednesday.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed the arrest of 20-year-old Brycson Gaddis, adding that a second suspect was arrested on unrelated charges. No other details were immediately provided.
Police and family identified the boy as Elyjiah Hearn.
"You're always in my heart. I love you. You're never going to leave me," Troy Hearn, the boy's grandfather, said about Elyjiah. "He's with his grandmother now, so I know the Lord has him. I don't know what to do right now. I'm so numb, I'm distraught."
Police said Gaddis is the boyfriend of the boy's mother, however, Hearn said he is an ex-boyfriend. Hearn said they had a violent relationship.
"I know he did it ... And I'm just sorry I didn't do anything before," Hearn said.
Gaddis is not the biological father of the victim, police said. He was being held on $2 million bail, according to Los Angeles County jail records.
The announcement came on the morning after community members gathered to mourn the boy at a vigil, and the mood shifted as police served a warrant in the homicide investigation.
The group gathered Tuesday night at a growing memorial of candles, balloons flowers at a parking lot where the deceased boy was found.
Meanwhile, officers served a search warrant an a nearby apartment complex on Lanark Street, just half a mile away from the crime scene. News video showed people being detained, including a man in a wheelchair and woman.
A large crowd gathered outside the apartment building, and jeered as an LAPD patrol car drove away with its lights and sirens on. Details about the search warrant have not been released.
Officers found the child's body Saturday morning after responding to the 8200 block of Van Nuys Boulevard, the LAPD said. A homeless man reportedly found the boy and had someone call for help.
The officers requested a privacy canopy at the location and cordoned off the empty parking lot with yellow tape. The scene was in a commercial area that includes a nearby furniture store, a banquet hall and a nonprofit's office.
The makeshift memorial in Panorama City continued to grow with candles and toys Wednesday night. People have been showing up to grieve alongside other community members.
Ceeanna Barnett says she has known Elyjiah since the day he was born.
"Him and his mother and I, we were all homeless in Hollywood," Barnett said. "I'm a mom myself. I have three kids; my kids always bonded with her kids."
Many who didn't know the family have been left feeling helpless in the face of such tragedy. One family drove down from Lancaster to pay their respects. For others, the drive wasn't as long, but the heartbreak is just as real.
"I can't imagine how lonely in those last moments that he must have felt," Sun Valley resident Kiera Nelson said. "It's just such a heinous crime."
