Mom's boyfriend admits to killing her 3-year-old daughter with chloroform in order to smoke meth, will avoid death penalty

Five years after 3-year-old Mariah Woods was reported missing and found dead, her mother's live-in boyfriend pleaded guilty to killing her with chloroform in order to smoke meth and will avoid the death penalty.

The child was reported missing on Nov. 27, 2017, by Adolphus Earl Kimrey from her home in Jacksonville, North Carolina. The community responded with an extensive search effort involving more than 700 people. About a week later, her body was found stuffed into a couch cushion in Shelter Creek by a dive team.

A witness came forward to tell investigators that they had seen Kimrey place an object "bigger than a book bag" in a van the night before Woods was reported missing.

Police obtained a warrant and found suspicious objects in the vehicle, including zip ties, hair ties, white socks, a pink jacket, and white toddler pants. Items were also seized at the home including bleach, duct tape, syringes, and a shovel.

Autopsy test results found the cause of death to be chloroform toxicity.

Kimrey was scheduled to go to trial when he admitted his guilt.

District Attorney Ernie Lee said Monday that Kimrey had told two inmates that he used chloroform on the child to make her go to sleep so that he could use methamphetamine. He also said that the mother of the child, Kristy Chavez, did not know that he was using chloroform on the child.

“My family and I will never be the same. Something will always be missing. My sons have been tortured, taken away, and still can not understand til this day why she was taken away from us," said the mother in court.

Kimrey pled guilty to first-degree murder and child abuse as part of a plea deal that would allow him to avoid the death penalty and instead spend his life behind bars without the possibility of parole.

Here's a local news report about the incident:

Man accused of killing Mariah Woods pleads guilty to murder, child abusewww.youtube.com