Father of missing 2-year-old Montrell Williams charged with murder

Arius Williams, 20, was arrested Wednesday after a disturbing series of events that began when he failed to return his son to the boy’s mother after a scheduled visitation on May 11.

Natalie Hernandez

Jun 12, 2025, 9:27 AM

Updated 15 hr ago

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The father of missing 2-year-old Montrell Williams has been charged with two counts of murder and two counts of manslaughter.
Arius Williams, 20, was arrested Wednesday after a disturbing series of events that began when he failed to return his son to the boy’s mother after a scheduled visitation on May 11.
Sources tell News 12 that the child’s mother contacted police and went to family court. An order of protection was granted, but Williams remained elusive and refused to say where the child was. A warrant was issued for his arrest on May 28.
According to the assistant district attorney, on June 8, the child's mother spotted Williams on the street after getting off a bus. She tried to confront him and demanded to know where Montrell was. Authorities say Williams told her he’d take her to the boy, leading her to St. Mary’s Park, where he pulled a knife and threatened her.
He allegedly admitted to throwing the 2-year-old into the river, saying "Shut the f*** up. I threw that n**** into the water," before fleeing onto the subway. He was later arrested by police at the 25th Precinct.
Sources say that Williams was caught on video on May 10 holding Montrell alive and later seen on surveillance footage walking away from a gas station near Bruckner Boulevard, where he allegedly threw the child off the bridge. Sources say there is video of the incident.
On Wednesday, the NYPD recovered a child’s body along the shore of Ferry Point Park. The medical examiner has not yet confirmed the identity.
Montrell’s grandfather told News 12 the child was wearing the same shirt Montrell had on when he went missing.
Williams has been remanded without bail. A judge found him to be a flight risk.
Montrell's maternal grandmother told News 12 that the baby was energetic, always smiling and that he loved playing with toy cars. They started a GoFundMe to cover funeral expenses for the child.
Arius Williams was deemed a flight risk by Judge Daniel Lewis and was remanded without bail.