Police searching for couple in death of toddler found in trash

Police on Friday were still looking for the couple wanted as "persons of interest" in the death of a toddler found in a trash bin this week.

Las Vegas police Lt. Lew Roberts said authorities haven't determined whether the girl's mother, 20-year-old Darrean Williams, and her boyfriend, 37-year-old William Marshall, are still in Southern Nevada. Roberts said the department has devoted a slew of resources to finding the couple, who lived at the La Mesa Apartments on Sierra Vista Drive, near Swenson Street.

The girl, dubbed "Baby Jane Vista Doe" by police, was found wearing a diaper and wrapped in a sheet in a trash bin behind the complex.

Police initially didn't find outward signs of trauma to her body. But during an autopsy, a medical examiner found evidence of blunt-force trauma to the head.

"She took a hellacious beating. A hellacious beating," he said.

She was found Wednesday afternoon by two men rummaging through trash bins.

Police, hours after the discovery, released a photo of the girl, deceased, in hopes of identifying her. Neighbors in the complex recognized her and by Thursday morning detectives had identified the two "persons of interest."

Anybody with information on their whereabouts is encouraged to call the department's Homicide Section at 828-3521 or Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.

Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440.