A babysitter in Upstate New York bashed her five-year-old cousin in the head and strangled him to death before throwing his body over a
guardrail into a ditch and covering it with snow on Thursday, police have revealed. According to DailyMail, 19 year old Tiffany Vanalstyne, after commiting the hideous murder, allegedly called police to make up a story about little Kenneth White being kidnapped by two masked men in an effort to cover her tracks – sending authorities on a desperate search across New York to find the boy. Late Kenneth, his twin sister Cheyenne and little sister Christine were being cared for by their aunt Brenda after both their mother and father lost custody of the children. They lived with Brenda Vanalstyne for more than a year and she had been granted legal custody about nine months ago. Police say that after a doctor’s appointment on Thursday, Brenda Vanalstyne dropped the three White children at home and left her daughter Tiffany to babysit them. Only for Tiffany Vanalstyne to kill Kenneth just minutes after Brenda left the home on Thursday afternoon, authorities believe. She then took his body down the road and threw it into a ditch. She covered it with snow to ensure it couldn’t be seen by passing cars, police say.
Tiffany Vanalstyne,
After the murder, Tiffany Vanalstyne called her mother and told her that Kenneth had been kidnapped by two masked men who barged into the trailer and pinned her to the ground. Brenda, who was just minutes from home, told her daughter to call 911.
Police immediately initiated an Amber Alert and launched a massive search for a black pickup truck that Vanalstyne described as the getaway vehicle. State police, the US Marshals and the FBI joined local officers in in the hunt, which began about 1.30pm.
Sheriff Apple said that as they continued to question Vanalstyne about the kidnapping, her story began to fall apart – she was inconsistent and many of the details didn’t make sense. However, the search for Kenneth and the mysterious black truck continued, but detectives began to investigate Vanalstyne, as well.
Shortly before midnight, a police dog made the grim discovery. Kenneth’s body was buried in snow about 40 yards down the road from the trailer.
Vanalstyne was charged with second-degree murder today while her mother Brenda Vanalstyne told a judge that her daughter suffers from bipolar disorder, which she takes medication for.
Authorities described conditions inside Brenda’s house as dangerous and are working to make sure Kenneth’s two sisters never return there.
