The Oklahoman

Grandfathe­r: Remains at NM compound are missing boy

- BY STEPHEN R. GROVES AND MORGAN LEE

TAOS, N.M. — A severely disabled Georgia boy who authoritie­s say was kidnapped by his father and marked for an exorcism was found buried at the ramshackle compound in the New Mexico desert that has been the focus of investigat­ors for the past week, the toddler’s grandfathe­r said Thursday.

New Mexico authoritie­s, however, said they had yet to identify the remains, discovered Monday. And prosecutor­s said they were awaiting word on the cause of death before deciding on any charges.

The boy, Abdulghani Wahhaj, would have turned 4 Monday. Authoritie­s said he was snatched from his mother in December in Jonesboro, Georgia, near Atlanta.

The search for him led authoritie­s to New Mexico, where 11 hungry children and a youngster’s remains were found in recent days at a filthy compound shielded by old tires, wooden pallets and an earthen wall studded with broken glass.

The missing boy’s grandfathe­r, Siraj Wahhaj, a Muslim cleric who leads a well-known New York City mosque, told reporters he had learned from other family members that the remains were his grandson’s.

The imam said he did not know the cause of death.

“Whoever is responsibl­e, then that person should be held accountabl­e,” Wahhaj said.

A Georgia arrest warrant accused the boy’s father, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, the imam’s son, of kidnapping the child. Authoritie­s said the father at some point told his wife he wanted to perform an exorcism on the boy, who cannot walk, suffers seizures and requires constant attention because of a lack of oxygen and blood flow at birth.

The child’s father was among five adults arrested on suspicion of child abuse at the compound after the children were discovered. In court papers, prosecutor­s also said Wahhaj had been training children there to carry out school shootings.

Speaking at his Brooklyn mosque, the elder Wahhaj said his family was trying to make arrangemen­ts to bring the child’s body to Georgia.

All 11 of the children, he said, were either his biological grandchild­ren or members of his family through marriage.

“I’m very concerned with the condition of my grandchild­ren,” he said. He said he didn’t understand why his son had taken the family and disappeare­d into the desert, but suggested a psychiatri­c disorder was to blame.

“My son can be maybe a little bit extreme,” he said, though he added that he never thought he was extreme enough to kill anyone. “High-strung,” he said.

 ?? [AP PHOTOS] ?? A makeshift shooting range stands adjacent to a disheveled living compound in Amalia, N.M., on Tuesday.
[AP PHOTOS] A makeshift shooting range stands adjacent to a disheveled living compound in Amalia, N.M., on Tuesday.
 ??  ?? Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, center, confers with one of his attorneys at a first appearance in New Mexico district court Wednesday in Taos, N.M., on accusation­s of child abuse and abducting his son from the boy’s mother.
Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, center, confers with one of his attorneys at a first appearance in New Mexico district court Wednesday in Taos, N.M., on accusation­s of child abuse and abducting his son from the boy’s mother.

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