(St. Louis) Murder charges filed in deaths of mother, 2-year-old

http://www.globe-democrat.com/news/2010/may/27/person-questioned-about-missing-toddler-after-mom-/

Gebar J. Byrd, Jr.

Gebar Byrd, Sr.

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Mom found dead; police searching for toddler

Yasmin Rodriguez

A St. Louis man is charged with first degree murder in the deaths of his 2-year-old son and the boy's mother.

Gebar Byrd, Sr., 26, of the 8200 block of Monroe Street in St. Louis, is charged with two counts of first degree murder, endangering the welfare of a child and domestic assault. Byrd, Sr. is being held without bond Thursday.

The charges stem from an investigation that took two months.

Gebar Byrd Jr., 2, was reported missing March 28. His mother, Yasmin Rodriguez, was also reported missing at that time, but was later found dead in the Mississippi River. The boy's body has not been found.

Police said the investigation revealed that on or about March 23, Byrd, Sr., his girlfriend Rodriguez and their 23 month-old son Byrd, Jr. were near the riverbank at Riverview and Spring Garden Drive. Rodriguez was holding Byrd, Jr. in her arms. Byrd, Sr. pushed Rodriguez, who was still holding their son, into the river through mud, branches and logs. Eventually, neither she nor the baby resurfaced, police said.