Philadelphia man charged in murders of son's mother, grandmother prior to Amber Alert
Byron MacDonald, 27 (Philadelphia Police Department)
PHILADELPHIA - The man at the center of an Amber Alert for a missing toddler earlier this month has now been charged with murder in the deaths of his son's mother and grandmother, who were killed in the days prior, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner announced on Friday.
Byron McDonald, 27, has been in custody since April 12, when police tracked him and his 3-year-old son that was the subject of an Amber Alert to a hotel near the Philadelphia International Airport.
Authorities say on Friday, April 9, prior to the child's disappearance, McDonald fatally shot Tamara Aikens, 50, in front of her home on the 2500 block of North Bancroft Street.
According to investigators, McDonald allegedly fired multiple gunshots through the passenger window of a Chevy Malibu, killing Aikens.
The Chevy was registered to Aikens' daughter, 25-year-old Morgan Braxton.
On April 11, a missing person report was filed with Philadelphia police for Braxton. The following day, police say a relative contacted them and reported that they feared for Braxton's safety due to a relationship with McDonald, with whom she has a 3-year-old child.
On April 12, officers responded to Braxton's home on the 4200 block of North 8th Street and found she had been fatally shot inside.
Byron McDonald II, 27, is loaded into a police van after surrendering to police at a South Philadelphia hotel.
With her son unaccounted for, an Amber Alert was issued for the child with information about McDonald and Braxton's Chevy Malibu.
Authorities say they later received information that the vehicle was parked behind the Aloft Hotel near the airport, and his credit card had been used to rent a room registered to McDonald's mother.
Members of the Philadelphia Police Department's SWAT unit and Homicide Fugitive Squad entered the hotel and took McDonald and his mother into custody without incident and safely recovered the child.
A car matching the description of the vehicle McDonald was traveling in was found behind the Aloft Hotel.
McDonald was charged with conspiracy, possession with intent to deliver, and endangering the welfare of a child as police continued to investigate the deaths of Aikens and Braxton.
Thursday, detectives obtained ballistic evidence, cell phone records, and additional surveillance video and charged McDonald with murder and related charges in both women's deaths.
"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," District Attorney Krasner said. "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."
McDonald's mother, Teresa Winfrey, was also charged with endangering the welfare of a child, conspiracy, and possession with intent to deliver.
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