Nevada Parents , Diaja M. Smith and Jacoby Robinson, Face Charges After Toddler's Body Found in Dumpster

A young couple from Nevada has been arrested and charged with the murder of their 2-year-old son, whose lifeless body was found in a dumpster, covered in bruises.

The mother, Diaja M. Smith, aged 23, and the father, Jacoby Robinson, aged 24, are facing charges of open murder and child abuse in connection to the death of their son, Jacoby Robinson Jr. 

This information comes from records examined by Law&Crime.

The tragic series of events began when officers from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department responded to a missing child report at around 8:25 p.m. on June 6th. 

They arrived at a home on South 15th Street, where they began searching for the missing boy, Robinson Jr.

An Endangered Missing Juvenile alert indicated that the child was last seen alive at approximately 7:45 p.m. on June 6th near his family’s home in Las Vegas. 

He was described as wearing a long-sleeved blue shirt, blue jeans, and blue Crocs. 

Police urged hospitals to check their records for any sign of the boy and to inform the authorities immediately if he was found.

Sadly, at about 12:58 a.m. on June 7th, the authorities discovered Robinson Jr.'s body in a garbage dumpster on Lewis Avenue. Medical personnel pronounced him dead at the scene.

The investigation was then taken over by the LVMPD Homicide Section. 

Detectives quickly identified the boy’s mother, Diaja Smith, as a suspect. 

She was subsequently arrested and is currently being processed at the Clark County Detention Center on charges of open murder and other felonies.

A local resident, Kelvyn Barnett, who lives near the dumpster where the boy’s body was found, recounted seeing Smith with her two other children the previous evening. 

Barnett told Fox Las Vegas affiliate KVVU that Smith was hysterical, claiming someone had taken her child. He expressed shock upon learning that Smith was suspected of the crime.

During a weekend court hearing, prosecutors revealed that Jacoby Robinson had confessed to being present while the victim was beaten and whipped so severely that he began vomiting. 

They also noted that Robinson Jr. had suffered numerous severe injuries, including marks in his genital area from rubber bands found in the home.

Authorities reported that the child’s body showed extensive signs of injury from the beatings. The Clark County Coroner’s Office is set to perform an autopsy to determine the exact cause and manner of death.

Both Smith and Robinson are being held without bond at the Clark County Detention Center and are scheduled to appear in court again on Tuesday.

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