The body of three-year-old Nola Dinkins was found wrapped in Saran Wrap inside a suitcase in a vacant lot in North East, Cecil County, Maryland, following a false kidnapping report filed by her mother. Maryland State Police confirmed on July 11 that human remains discovered during the search were positively identified as those of the missing child.

The investigation began on June 10 when Darrian Randle, 31, of North East, Maryland, contacted New Castle County Police in Delaware to report that her daughter had been abducted at gunpoint near the 500 block of Gender Road in Newark, Delaware. Randle claimed a man approached them around 7:15 p.m. while she had pulled over to comfort her daughter, took the child at gunpoint, and fled in a dark-colored SUV driven by a white female.

An Amber Alert was issued for Nola, prompting a comprehensive search operation. However, as standard procedure in missing children investigations, Maryland State Police troopers were dispatched to Randle’s last known address on Elk Nest Drive in North East, Cecil County, to corroborate the mother’s account and ensure the child was not mistakenly left at home.

At the residence, troopers encountered Cedrick Antoine Britten, 44, Randle’s boyfriend, who told officers the child was not home and had left with her mother. During their investigation, troopers noticed security cameras outside the house and requested to review the footage. The video showed only Randle leaving the residence, with no evidence of the child being present.

Troopers observed a strong odor of cleaning products, specifically bleach, inside the home during their search. When they examined Britten’s vehicle with his consent, they discovered a child-sized blanket with a reddish-brown smear consistent with blood. Britten claimed the blanket was not his and that he had received it from a stranger at a park during summer 2024.

Under questioning by Delaware authorities, Randle initially provided false and misleading statements before eventually admitting the kidnapping report was fabricated. According to charging documents, Randle confessed to physically striking Nola with a belt approximately 15 to 20 times about her body during daytime hours on Monday, June 9, at Britten’s home.

Randle told investigators that after the beating, “Nola had fallen to the ground and was not moving.” She stated that when she picked up her daughter, she realized the child was no longer breathing. Randle called for Britten, who attempted CPR, but they realized the child was dead.

Following the child’s death, Randle and Britten drove around with Nola’s body in his vehicle before returning home. They then placed the child’s body inside a blue suitcase and left it on the basement stairs overnight. The following day, Randle asked Britten to dispose of the suitcase containing the body. Britten removed the suitcase and later sent Randle a photograph of a park.

On June 11, Maryland State Police interviewed Britten, who provided investigators with a map indicating where he believed the child’s body had been disposed of. Using this information, investigators searched an area on Dune Drive and discovered the remains in a suitcase in a vacant lot around 1:45 p.m. The location was directly behind Britten’s residence.

According to court documents, the remains were consistent with those of an emaciated child and were completely wrapped in Saran Wrap. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore conducted an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death and provide positive identification.

Randle faces multiple charges, including first- and second-degree murder, first-degree child abuse resulting in death of a minor under 13, and filing a false police report. She is being held on $1 million cash bail at Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution in New Castle, Delaware, awaiting extradition to Maryland.

Britten was arrested on July 2 and faces 11 charges, including child abuse resulting in death, accessory to first- and second-degree murder after the fact, and failure to report child death. Despite the state’s request for detention, a judge granted Britten $75,000 bond and released him on home detention. Two of his charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison.

The case has deeply affected the Cecil County community, with residents expressing shock and disbelief. A vigil was held for Nola, with dozens of community members gathering to honor her memory. Her father, Dominique Dinkins, established a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral costs, memorial services, travel expenses, and attorney fees, describing his daughter as having infectious energy that connected with everyone she met.

Both defendants are scheduled for preliminary hearings, with the case continuing under the jurisdiction of Maryland State Police and the Cecil County State’s Attorney’s Office. The Amber Alert was canceled on June 12 after the investigation transitioned from a missing person case to a homicide investigation.