Father of missing baby Delano Wilson charged with murder

Willie Wilson is now facing a murder charge in connection with the death of his missing infant son, Delano Wilson, the Marion County prosecutor's office says.

The latest development comes about five months after the 6-week-old infant disappeared.

A probable cause affidavit states that Willie Wilson called 911 at 12:02 p.m., Aug. 27, to report that he had just been robbed and that someone had taken his 6-week-old son.

When officers arrived, they found Wilson lying in an alley near Chase and Henry streets on Indianapolis' Near Westside. Wilson told police that he had been walking with his son in his arms when a car pulled up and a man and woman got out and robbed him and took Delano, according to the affidavit.

After learning that the child had possibly been abducted, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department called in the Indianapolis Fire Department, the FBI and a number of search and rescue personnel from neighboring counties, the affidavit states.

As investigators canvassed the neighborhood, searching for Delano and witnesses to the robbery, the affidavit states, an IMPD detective noticed a surveillance camera perched atop a business near the scene in the 1400 block of West Henry Street.

Detectives reviewed the tape and, according to the affidavit, discovered that the man in the video was not carrying a child in his arms at the time of the alleged robbery. Because the video contradicted Wilson's statement, police called in the assistance of the IMPD Homicide Unit, fearing for the child's well-being.

During the initial search for Delano on Aug. 27, the affidavit states, police also spoke with Wilson's neighbor, who said she heard a disturbance coming from Wilson's home about 3 o'clock that morning. When the neighbor's husband was interviewed a couple of days later, he told police he heard Taniasha Perkins, Wilson's girlfriend and Delano's mother, say, "... damn, this never should have happened," to which Wilson replied, "put it in the shower."

Wilson was living with Perkins at her home in the 500 block of Chase Street. According to the affidavit, Perkins told police during an interview on Aug. 27 that Wilson told her he was going to take Delano out on the front porch while she was in the shower.
That was around 10:45 a.m.

An hour later, when Perkins went to check on the two, she noticed that neither one was on the porch, the affidavit states. She was worried and tried to call Wilson, but the calls kept going to voice mail. So she went looking for them.

In a statement he later gave to police, Wilson said he decided to take Delano for a walk around the block, a loop that takes about 10 minutes to complete, according to the probable cause affidavit. Wilson told police he left home at 11 a.m. to begin the first lap. When he finished, he told police, he decided to circle around the block once more, and that's when he was robbed and Delano was abducted.

But the affidavit states that the time frame Wilson described did not coincide with the 911 call he placed at 12:02 p.m.

In the initial search for the child Aug. 27, police used a K9 unit to track the baby's scent to a wooded area west of South Harding Street and north of Oliver Avenue, near the CSX railroad tracks. Searchers combed through wooded areas, vacant lots and buildings and used sonar cameras to search the nearby White River -- all to no avail. The FBI also took part in the search.

With Wilson's consent, police collected the clothes he wore during the alleged robbery, the affidavit states. They wanted to see whether Wilson's movements that morning coincided with those of Delano's.

They did.

According to the affidavit, on Aug. 28, a K9 unit, working off Wilson's clothes, tracked the scent to the same area where Delano's scent had been traced.

On the day of the alleged robbery and abduction, the affidavit states, Wilson was arrested by an IMPD detective on an allegation of possessing a bag of marijuana that police found on him at the station. Police confiscated the marijuana, along with two cellphones Wilson had on him.

In the days that followed, the probable cause affidavit states, investigators obtained a search warrant for the phones and had them analyzed by the FBI office in Indianapolis. The analysis revealed that a document titled "Infant Abduction Statistics" had been downloaded onto the phone nearly two hours before Wilson called 911 and said he had been robbed and his child had been abducted.

The forensic report also showed that about 24 Web inquiries and pages concerning child kidnapping statistics and stories had been searched on the phone from 9:34 a.m. to 10:23 a.m. the day of Delano's disappearance.

Investigators questioned Taniasha Perkins again on Sept. 1 while crime lab technicians served a search warrant at the Chase Street home, according to the affidavit. During questioning, Perkins was shown the Henry Street surveillance video. At first, she said the man in the video was Wilson, then, after watching it again, she denied that it was him.

Meanwhile, at the home, crime lab technicians had found traces of possible human blood in the bathroom sink, in the bathtub and on a light blue baby blanket. When the detective questioning Perkins received word about the possible human blood in the residence, the affidavit states, Perkins was notified of the discovery and was told that police were going to compare the blood with DNA from Delano.

Then Perkins was asked where in the house she thought the crime lab team would find the traces of blood, and she admitted that investigators would find it on the floor and in the bathtub, the affidavit states. When the detective asked Perkins what she thought the evidence would tell police, she said it would tell them that Wilson did something to her baby, the affidavit says.

Multiple witnesses who were in the area of Chase Street on Aug. 27 reported seeing a man that fit Wilson's description, either in the alley just west of Chase Street or running west on Henry Street toward Harding Street, according to the affidavit.

One witness, who was traveling north on Holt Road, over the CSX tracks, said he saw a man and woman walking out of the woods on the morning of Aug. 27 near the area where K9 units had tracked Wilson's and Delano's scents. When police showed the witness a photo array, he positively identified the two people he saw as Willie Wilson and Taniasha Perkins, the affidavit says.

Based on the findings in the investigation, the probable cause affidavit states, detectives believe that Delano Wilson is dead and say that Willie Wilson's testimony is inconsistent with video surveillance and witness statements.

No charges have been filed against the boy's mother.

Shortly after the disappearance, Perkins made a public and tearful plea for her baby's return. Delano's parents also held a vigil outside their home.

Lou Johnson, Delano's cousin, said Wednesday that she and the rest of the family were shocked by Willie Wilson's arrest. She said they did not have any inkling that Wilson might have been responsible for his son's disappearance.

"We're hurt. We couldn't believe it," Johnson said. "It doesn't make any sense. It really doesn't. If it's true, we want to do something to him. If you did something to the baby, justice should be served. "

Johnson said Delano's mother is distraught about the news.

"She lost her baby," Johnson said, "and she's about to lose the man that she loved."

Online court records show Willie Wilson is being held without bond.

Call Star reporter Michael Anthony Adams at (317) 444-6123. Follow him on Twitter: @MichaelAdams317.