Maryland teen accused of killing 5-year-old half sister caught nearly 500 miles away in Ohio

PASADENA, Md. — A Maryland teen sits in an Ohio jail cell awaiting extradition home after authorities charged him over the weekend with killing his 5-year-old half sister.

Stephen Jarrod Davis II, 17, is charged as an adult with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Anaya Jannah Abdul, who was found dead in their Pasadena home Saturday morning.

“The child was suffering from apparent trauma,” Anne Arundel County police officials said in a statement. “An autopsy was completed today and the cause of death was determined to be multiple sharp force injuries and the manner of death was ruled homicide.”

Evidence recovered at the scene pointed to Davis as a suspect in Anaya’s killing.

“That family, I can’t imagine what this group is going through,” Lt. Jackie Davis, a spokesperson for the Ann Arundel County Police Department, told WMAR in Baltimore. “Losing, really, two children in the one incident has to be horrific.”

When police arrived Saturday morning, Stephen Davis had fled the scene in a family vehicle he took without permission. According to WHIO in Dayton, Davis was taken into custody more than three hours later following a high-speed chase on an interstate near Springfield.

Davis surrendered about 5 miles into the chase, during which his speed topped 100 mph.

“We have potential charges here,” Ohio State Highway Patrol Sgt. Jon Payer told WHIO Monday morning. “That’ll ultimately be the prosecutor’s decision at the end of the day whether we’re going to charge him here in Ohio for the traffic violations.”

The Clark County Prosecutor’s Office ultimately decided against filing charges against Davis in Ohio. He remained in a juvenile detention facility following a court hearing Monday afternoon.

Maryland investigators were still working Tuesday to determine a motive for the killing.

“Honestly, the biggest question that we all have is why. Why would a 17-year-old child not just murder his sister, but brutally murder his sister, in their home?” Lt. Davis told Fox Baltimore.

Anaya was a kindergarten student at Fort Smallwood Elementary School in Pasadena. The school’s principal, Bobbie Kesecker, informed parents of her death in a letter Sunday.

“Anaya was a very sweet little girl,” Kesecker wrote in the note, which was obtained by WMAR. “Though quiet, she was quite animated when called upon and always had something to say in her classroom. She enjoyed drawing and was considered an angel in her family.”

The little girl loved making videos, dancing and singing, according to Kesecker.

Though the school is closed to students due to the pandemic, counselors have been made available to students, as well as parents, faculty and staff members.

The Anne Arundel County Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Team was also working with the responding officers and the victim’s family to provide similar resources.

Police officials asked the media to respect the grieving family’s privacy.

Cox Media Group