Autopsy report provides details in Mariah Woods' death

A 3-year-old Onslow County girl was wrapped in trash bags and a couch cushion cover before her body was tossed into a creek late last year, according to an autopsy report released Wednesday.

Posted 6:21 p.m. Jul 18, 2018 — Updated 7:18 p.m. Jul 18, 2018

Matthew Burns

, WRAL.com senior producer/politics editor

RALEIGH, N.C. — A 3-year-old Onslow County girl was wrapped in trash bags and a couch cushion cover before her body was tossed into a creek late last year, according to an autopsy report released Wednesday.

Mariah Kay Woods was reported missing on the morning of Nov. 27, and after hundreds of volunteers searched for her for days, a dive team from Fayetteville found her body in Holly Shelter Creek in a remote area of Pender County – about 30 miles from her home.

According to the autopsy report, her body was inside three plastic garbage bags that were tied up, and those bags were inside a plaid cover to a couch cushion that was zippered closed. A large piece of cement, possibly off a curb, also was inside the cushion cover, the report states.

There were no obvious injuries on her, aside from a bruise near her left eye and some scrapes on her face, although there was some bleeding under her scalp, according to the autopsy report. There was no evidence she had been sexually assaulted.

Authorities previously said Mariah died of chloroform poisoning, which the autopsy confirmed.

Chloroform can be used as an anesthetic in small doses, but it can be toxic in large amounts. Among its other uses, the volatile chemical is used in the production of Teflon and in refrigerants for air conditioners.

Adolphus Earl Kimrey II, 32, is charged with first-degree murder and felony child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury in Mariah's death and faces a possible death sentence if convicted.

Kimrey, the boyfriend of the girl's mother, was initially charged with obstruction of justice and concealing a death. He was the person who reported her missing.

Search warrants in the case indicate that people saw Kimrey load something "bigger than a bookbag" into a van and leave the home he shared with Kristy Woods and her children on the night of Nov. 26.

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