Nadia Lee: Missing for over 6 months, 2-year-old girl found dead in Texas a week ago identified
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PASADENA, TEXAS: A 2-year-old girl who had been missing for six months and was found dead in Vince Bayou in Pasadena, Texas, last week has been identified. The Houston Police Department discovered the remains on March 20, and on Sunday, March 26, the local medical examiner's office positively identified the body as that of Nadia Lee, according to reports.
Nadia was last seen alive on October 16, 2022. Her father, 26-year-old Jyron Lee, has since been charged with two counts of capital murder for allegedly killing his daughter and wife, Nancy Reed. According to the authorities, Lee choked his wife to death during an argument about her disciplinary methods inside a hotel room on the night of October 18.
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Nadia was last seen near Lee’s apartment in Pasadena
During the investigation into his wife's death, detectives learned that Nadia was last seen near Lee’s apartment in Pasadena two days earlier. Lee claimed that Nadia vanished while he took out the trash. However, when the authorities searched the suspect's apartment on South Richey Road, they found "a small child’s mattress on the closet floor with what appeared to be blood near the headboard," stated court records cited by KPRC.
Lee was jailed on a $1.85 million bond
Lee was charged for his daughter’s death in December and remains jailed on a $1.85 million bond. The cause and manner of Nadia's death have not been disclosed as of Monday and the investigation remains ongoing. According to Tim Miller, the founder of Texas EquuSearch, the report stated, Lee, checked Nadia out of foster care on October 14, 2022, and never returned her. When authorities learned about Nadia's disappearance, they later learned that Lee no longer cooperated with investigators, leading to a thorough search at his apartment in Pasadena.
Lee inflicted severe injuries on his daughter that caused her death
After discovering Nadia's remains, investigators believe that Lee inflicted severe injuries on his daughter that caused her death. Detectives learned that Nadia had sustained injuries inflicted by Jyron and was believed to have been killed on or about October 16 at 331 South Richey Street in Pasadena, the report mentioned. Lee was also charged with the murder of his wife, Nancy Reed, on October 19, 2022, after he placed her in a chokehold following an argument. Reed was transported to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Lee and Reed's five surviving children are now in the custody of Child Protective Services
HPD said they initially responded to an assault at a hotel at about 11.30 pm on October 18, 2022. During the investigation, it was determined that 2-year-old Nadia had gone missing and Jyron was identified as the main suspect. Lee and Reed's five surviving children are now in the custody of Child Protective Services. The tragic case has left the community in shock and mourning with many calling for justice for Nadia and her mother.