'Senseless act of violence': Alabama mother of 4 kidnapped, found dead in car; man charged

Authorities in Alabama arrested a man and charged him with capital murder in the kidnapping and death of Nakita Chantryce Davidson, who was found dead in her car on Friday.

Cedric Dewayne Robertson, 37, of Birmingham, Alabama was arrested Friday evening after detectives with the Birmingham Police Department obtained a warrant Thursday from the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office. Robertson was later charged with "capital murder committed during a kidnapping," and is currently in custody at the Jefferson County Jail, the DA Office said Monday.

Victim was found dead in a car, police say

Davidson, 40, a mother of four, as per a GoFundMe Account set up for her funeral expenses, was found dead shortly before 3:20 p.m. Friday in a burgundy vehicle in a wooded dead-end area, Birmingham Police said in a news release Saturday.

An investigation into her kidnapping began early the previous day after officers responded to a call of a two-vehicle accident, a little after 2 a.m. Thursday.

"When officers arrived on the scene, they observed one vehicle at the location," police said. "Officers also observed evidence of a violation crime."

At the time, police said that they believe that suspect had "shot the victim, placed her inside her vehicle and left the scene."

Suspect arrested a mile from deceased's location

A warrant for Robertson's arrest for kidnapping was issued and the police had sought the public's help in locating him, warning that they believe the suspect to be "armed and dangerous."

Robertson was eventually arrested Friday evening around 6:40 p.m., about a mile from where Davidson's car and body were found.

It is not immediately clear when the suspect will be arraigned or presented in court. The DA's office did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for an update on the case.

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Accused was victim's boyfriend, reports state

While authorities did not specify if Davidson was known to Robertson, AL.com, citing court records reported that the accused was Davidson's boyfriend. The records indicated Robertson was a convicted felon who purposely crashed into the victim's vehicle and shot her before putting her into the trunk of her car's vehicle and driving away in it, the media outlet reported. The suspect's own vehicle and cell phone were found at the site of the car crash.

One of Davidson's shoes, a pink Nike sneaker, was also found at the site of the car crash, that helped in identifying the victim, AL.com reported.

Davidson’s brother, Laderrius Swain, told AL.com that his sister had been dating Robertson for less than a year and was planning to end things with him when she was killed.

“Her plan was to get away from him,’’ Swain told the media outlet. “That’s what she was trying to do that night.”

Swain, who has set up the GoFundMe for Davidson's funeral arrangements, wrote on the page: "Her life was tragically cut short on 4/12/24 due to a senseless act of violence leaving four children without their mother."

A date for the funeral has not yet been set.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.