Child’s remains discovered amid squalor of compound
AMALIA, N.M. — The investigation into a group of starving children found in a desert compound in
New Mexico took another dark turn Tuesday, when authorities said they found the remains of a young boy at the squalid property.
It’s not yet certain the remains are those of Abdul-ghani Wahhaj, who would have turned 4 on Monday.
But Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe indicated that the body appeared to be that of a boy similar in age to Abdul-ghani, who suffers from seizures and was reported missing in December after his father said he was taking him to a park in Jonesboro, Georgia, south of Atlanta.
The father, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, had told his wife he wanted to perform an exorcism on the child, authorities said.
The search for Abdul-ghani led authorities Friday to the compound. It’s located on the outskirts of Amalia, a tiny, remote town near the Colorado border marked by scattered homes, sagebrush and open plains.
Investigators said they found the heavily armed Wahhaj along with four other adults and 11 hungry children living in filthy conditions.
All the adults were arrested on suspicion of child abuse. Wahhaj is also being detained on a Georgia warrant that seeks his extradition to face a charge of abducting his son. He was expected to appear in court Wednesday.
Authorities returned to search the compound after interviews Friday and Saturday led them to believe the boy might still be on the property.
Hogrefe said the “breaking point” in seeking a search warrant came when Georgia authorities received a message that may have originated within the compound that children were starving inside.
Children ages 1 to 15 were rescued from the compound, which had been under investigation for months.
Property owner Jason Badger said he and his wife had pressed authorities to remove the group, which he said had built the compound on his acreage instead of a neighboring tract owned by Lucas Morton, one of the men arrested during the raid.