Last night we told you about the arson at Kevin Burgess's home in Ladyville. Eyewitnesses said that his ex - girlfriend and baby's mother had torched the home - as an act of jealousy.
Well tonight the story is very different - and far more serious. The child that the couple shared is dead: the infant girl - named Kaylee - reportedly drowned in a bucket last night.
Police say that the circumstances are very suspicious - so much so that the mother Deidra Trapp is now detained by police - being investigated both for the arson and for possibly causing the infant's death.
It is drama turned deadly - in a very disturbing case - and we spoke to all the personalities in the story including Diedra Trapp who is being investigated for torching her boyfriend's home and possibly being involved in the death of her own child. The story is complicated, and overwhelmingly tragic - but it is also gripping. Monica Bodden has a very full report on all the accusations and counter accusations - as well as the mother of the dead child and lead suspect in the arson giving a stout defence of herself.
Here's her story:....
Monica Bodden Reporting
Little Kaylee Burgess would have been celebrating her second birthday tomorrow, but instead, her little body lay at the city morgue, awaiting a post-mortem.
The child was discovered behind her grandmother's house around 11:30 last night. She was found face down in a bucket of water.
The twist to the story is that little Kaylee's father - Kevin Burgess- was seen on the news last night accusing his children's mother of burning down his house.
Deidra Pratt - was detained by police for questioning and spent almost 10 hours in police custody.
She was released after 10 last night.
By that time, her family had already made a kidnapping report to police - stating that the 2 year old child went missing sometime after 7 last night.
But while Pratt was being released, Kevin Burgess - the child's father, was being detained by police for damaged to property - where the Pratt family accused him of damaging their window louvers.
While all that was going on, police along with family members were still trying to locate little 2 year old Kaylee.
But the search soon ended when she was discovered by her grandmother inside a bucket of water.
Today the atmosphere at the Ladyville police station was gloomy as both sides of the family was seen mourning the death of their beloved child.
Caroline Quilter - Grandmother of Deceased
"What happened is that last night - think it was about after 8 or minutes to 9 - they came and arrested my son, and they told him that they had to take him to the station to bring a charge against him because they understand that he kidnapped his baby. We were down here until almost morning today. About after 1 or so, I got a call - nothing from the station - I got a call from another family member who said - the other grandmother said that they found the baby dead in a bucket of water."
Monica Bodden
"This was about what time?"
Caroline Quilter
"That was probably about after 1."
Monica Bodden
"So your son was already detained by police."
Caroline Quilter
"Yes, my son was already detained by police. I praise God that he was detained because I don't know what they wanted to do to my son because they were already starting to say that he was the one who kidnapped his own child. My son doesn't have anything to do with this, Miss. From the fire, my son went into a shocked state. He had nothing to do with this."
Kevin Burgess was charged with damaged to property and was taken away to court today.
Meanwhile, his mother had to be consoled at the police station, as she held up this sign that read RIP Kaylee.
Caroline Quilter
"And all night last night, we went through pain because we couldn't tell my son that he his baby died until this morning. This is my little Kaylee. She would have been 2 year-old tomorrow, 2 years tomorrow. She doesn't deserve what happened. I don't know what happened to her, but she doesn't deserve it. She is just a child. She doesn't deserve this. Look at her; she didn't even have a chance in life."
And even without a post-mortem conducted as yet on the body of little Kaylee - police say they are suspecting foul play.
Inspector Fitzroy Yearwood - Police Press Officer
"We now have a twist. The twist in this thing is that we have a 1 year, eleven months' old child, who would have celebrated her birthday tomorrow - her second year - apparently lost her life. They're alleging that it is as a result of a drowning. We are waiting for Dr. Estradabran's post-mortem to confirm whether or not this is so. But from the basis of the report, we have made it plain to both parties involved - both the mother of the child, and the father - that we suspect foul-play in the death of this child. 1, the child was a healthy child up until her body was discovered sometime around midnight - early this morning - in a container resembling a bucket. And they are alleging that this bucket had in a little bit of water. We are not certain whether or not that child died as a result of a drowning, and that is where our investigation begins."
Marion Ali - Love News
"Let's backtrack a bit. They child was living with whom? And where was she found?"
Inspector Fitzroy Yearwood
"With the mother at the grandmother's house and she was left in the custody of an aunt. So, apparently, the aunt left from home to come to the station. When she realized that the child went missing - something around news time yesterday - she called her mother and asked her mother to inform the police that the child was missing. That is what she has alleged. The police said that they immediately began a search for the child, and the grandmother claimed that sometime around midnight, she discovered the body of the child in the bucket."
Monica Bodden
"So, while police were searching for the child, was the father detained?"
Inspector Fitzroy Yearwood
"Well, the father was detained eventually because they had to go for him at his house because of the other report, the damage to property report. When they went to his home, the police officers stated that they searched house thoroughly. They searched his yard, everything, and he was detained here at our station up until a little while ago where he was escorted to Magistrate's Court in Belize City."
Voice of: Child's Uncle
"So, my mother started do some extensive searching, going to other family members' house looking. But that was to no avail; they didn't find the baby. So, my mother came home, and my mother decided to just look around the yard because it is big. She went through the kitchen to the backdoor. Her intention was to look around, and she saw one of the buckets - the one with the blue covering - she saw this pampers, and she then saw that the baby was in an inclined position. She immediately grabbed the baby and started screaming. At that time, I was already asleep, and that woke me. I saw my mother hugging the baby, and everybody started to scream and cry because all the while, we believe that he had the baby. We were going to do our extensive search from a long time if we found out that he didn't have the baby, during that time. So all this time, this baby was right at the back there, and we didn't know because we thought he took her, and he had her during that time. What I get to understand from the news earlier is that the police are suspecting foul play. That's ridiculous. How will you suspect foul play when there is no post mortem that has been conducted as yet, and no research has been done on the baby to see what is the cause of death, if it's drowning or something else? How will you want to reach to that conclusion? And I just want to say that this baby, none of my family members or anyone of us would ever harm her in any kind of way or revenge because my sister has been through so much abuse with this guy. He damaged so much our property, punctured car wheels and all kinds of stuff, and we allowed that. My sister has records which are in black and white, taking out restraining orders that this guy is abusing her physically and emotionally. That's my sister moved back with us. We would never ever try to think say that we can get revenge against him by hurting an innocent child."
For 24 year old Deidra Pratt - the mother of little Kaylee no words could have described the pain of losing her daughter. Today while she was detained - waiting to see if she would be charged with arson - She was also nursing her newborn baby from the police station - while mourning the death of her 2 year old.
Deidra Pratt - Mother of Deceased/Current Suspect
"Police came for me and told me that they were going to arrest me for arson, and that I was going to get charged for arson. That's why I was here."
Monica Bodden
"That was when?"
Deidra Pratt
"Yesterday afternoon."
Monica Bodden
"And then I understand that you were released later on in the night?"
Deidra Pratt
"Yes, I was released, and they came back for me this morning at around 8:30."
Monica Bodden
"And you were released at what time last night?"
Deidra Pratt
"After 10."
Monica Bodden
"I understand that last night, there was a report that your 2 year-old baby, she went missing?"
Deidra Pratt
"Yes, she went missing from after 7. Yesterday evening, my sister called my mom and told her that she was missing, but we didn't really think anything of it because earlier in the day, Police had to go and get my son from his father because he picked up my son from school, at BDF. So, we never thought that anything bad happened because we thought that because of what he is putting me through right now, I wouldn't allow him to see his kids. I thought that this was the only way he could see my daughter because Kaylee doesn't go to anybody else. Kaylee doesn't know any stranger. She will cry."
Monica Bodden
"So you though that Kevin had your baby?"
Deidra Pratt
"Yes, everybody thought that Kevin had Kaylee, so we went to the Domestic Unit and filed an official kidnapping report, that he went unto my mother's premises and took my daughter."
Monica Bodden
"At this time, when your little daughter went missing, you were detained right?"
Deidra Pratt
"Yes, I was detained, and I was at the Ladyville Police Station until after 10 the night."
Monica Bodden
"So, when you went home, you still didn't find your baby."
Deidra Pratt
"No, I didn't find my baby. She wasn't there but I still didn't think anything because when the police brought him in and asked him about my baby, he said that he didn't know where the baby was. And he took it calmly. I didn't think anything of it because Kevin loves the baby, so right away, if he heard that the baby went missing, he would have started to react a kind of way because - you know?"
Monica Bodden
"So, at this time, you're think that well, he's probably just saying that but he has your child safe."
Deidra Pratt
"Yes, that's what I thought. So, when I got released, the mobile took me home because of my newborn baby. My mother and I went on a bike, and we went to his real mother's house who lives right behind our street to listen and see if we could hear my baby cry doesn't like strangers. We didn't hear her cry. We went all the way to the back of Lord's Bank because he has a brother that lives all back that way. We thought that he took her all the way there because the police said that when they went for Kevin, they looked through all the houses and the garage, which has 5 or 6 houses. They said that they didn't find her. I thought that Kevin only wanted to hurt me with my baby because he knows that I wouldn't allow him to see her again. That's what we were thinking. We weren't thinking that anything out of the ordinary happened. When we came back, and started to look around. We have a cat that has a young baby, and we thought that maybe Kaylee went and bothered with the kitty and went to sleep under the bed. So, we got the flashlights and went looking all over the place - the house, the yard, everywhere. When we went on the back verandah, I saw my baby in a bucket of water. It had a little bit of water - the big chlorine buckets. She was face down like she fell into the water. My mother got her, and we started to check her if she had a pulse. She didn't have any pulse, and that's how I found out that my daughter dead."
Monica Bodden
"This was after midnight?"
Deidra Pratt
"Yes, this was after midnight last night."
Monica Bodden
"For those people who are saying that it's probably you, being capable of doing that to your own child, what would you say to those people?"
Deidra Pratt
"That's total nonsense because if Kevin never continued with his foolishness about this arson thing, I would have been at home to tend to my babies because I don't go anywhere. I have a 3 year-old, a 2 year-old, and a new-born. I have nowhere to go with 3 little babies. I stay home all day and take care of my babies until when he come home in the night for us to go and sleep."
Monica Bodden
"Were you his ex, or were you his common-law wife?"
Deidra Pratt
"I was Kevin's common-law wife for 5 and a half years."
Monica Bodden
"So, you guys were still together - you guys are still together?"
Deidra Pratt
"Yes, we were still together up until the night before last night when they accused me of arson. We were still together."
Up until late this evening Pratt was not charged as yet with arson. In her interview, she stood by her words - which were, she had nothing to do with house fire at her common-law house.
Deidra Pratt
"First of all, I blame Kevin for my daughter's death because Kevin knows that I didn't burn that house down. I could have done it years ago because it was my money which bought it, but I didn't do it. We lived through our ups and downs; we are in and out, but we remained together. Kevin is the one who caused this, but he didn't do it by himself. His family influenced him to do it because he said it on the news last night that he is frustrated because of his kids. He doesn't know what to do. I am angry because I can't be with my family; my family can't comfort me. They are saying on the next hand that it's my neglect - I am the one who caused my daughter to die. They are saying that I killed my daughter, but I was at this police station detained. I am just frustrated. He talked about how he wants justice; well, the justice that he wanted, brought my daughter's death because if I was at home, I would have been taking care of my baby. See what his justice brought? My daughter's death, and that's not fair because I didn't burn down any house."
She remains detained this evening.
32 year-old Kevin Burgess, the father of baby Kaylee, was arraigned in Magistrate's Court today for allegedly breaking 3 glass louvers from a window of the house belonging to his mother-in-law - which is where his baby's mother lives.
According to police, Marta Mejia reported that on Tuesday at about 11:15 p.m. - which, coincidentally, was about 1 hour after Burgess' home was burnt down - he went to her house and punched in 3 of her glass louvers, causing them to break. Police arrested Burgess yesterday, and charged him with damage to property.
He was arraigned before Magistrate Aretha Ford, where he attempted to plead guilty to the charge. But because he didn't agree with the facts of the case according to the police, Magistrate Ford was forced to enter him into an equivocal not-guilty plea.
He was granted bail of $1,000, and he must return to court on October 8.
