Hopes for the safe recovery of 12-year-old Jonathan Foster, missing since Christmas Eve, continued to dim Tuesday, with detectives privately saying they believe the burned body found in a ditch near the Hardy Toll Road was, in fact, that of the boy.
It was also disclosed that the story about the boy having been with a babysitter just before he disappeared was false. Foster was instead at home alone in his mother’s apartment.
While the search for the missing boy continued, the finding of a badly-burned body on Shilder Drive at the Hardy Toll Road appeared to trigger a rapid succession of events that led investigators to believe the boy is dead.
Because of the badly-burned condition of the body, no immediate identification could be made. The body was taken to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences for identification.
Because the ground and grass around the body showed no signs of fire, police believe the victim was burned elsewhere and dumped in the ditch.
Foster’s family members were told to prepare themselves for the possibility the body is that of the Durham Elementary fifth-grader.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one detective said late Tuesday evening the focus of the investigation had turned to Foster’s mother and stepfather, Angela and David Davis. Without categorizing them as suspects, the veteran investigator said “it sure looks like there’s some involvement there.”
“At this point, I can’t say they’re responsible for the boy’s disappearance, but we’re certainly looking very closely at them. We have some very troubling evidence and some obviously false statements given to investigators early on,” he said.
The investigator also said “all indications” are that the burned body is that of Foster.
Police also said they had recovered some “significant evidence” from a surveillance camera at the Rolled Alloys facility next to where the body was found. They would not disclose the nature of that evidence, but the stepfather’s car was searched and impounded by police shortly after detectives completed their review of the video.
It was also revealed there had been recent domestic problems between Angela and David Davis.
According to police, Foster lived with his grandparents until November, when he moved in with his mother and stepfather at Villa Nueva Apartments. After a conflict with the stepfather, the boy and his mother moved to a nearby apartment earlier this month.
The stepfather was apparently the last person to see Foster last Friday. Investigators said David Davis stopped by the apartment to check on the boy around 1:45 p.m. Friday. He reportedly told police the boy was playing video games.
Even as some 200 people gathered Tuesday evening for a candlelight vigil at the Garden Oaks Baptist Church, Angela and David Davis were still being questioned by detectives on the sixth floor of Houston Police Headquarters.
Facebook Comments