By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-05 23:16:48 | Updated at 2025-01-07 12:29:58
1 day ago
A high-speed crash on an Alabama road has unearthed a family's darkest secrets - one that could send a mother to prison for life.
In the quiet backroads of Fayette County, Alabama, a December morning turned tragic when a speeding pickup truck careened off the road and slammed into a tree.
The crash claimed two lives, a father who was behind the wheel, and his two-year-old daughter - but it was what investigators didn't find at the crash scene that would soon rip open a family's twisted secret.
Steven 'Brad' Collins, 40, was driving the morning of December 8, when his speeding truck spun out of control on Fayette County Road 73.
The impact sent Collins and his fiancée, 22-year-old Wendy 'Pam' Bailey, flying from the vehicle.
Their two-year-old daughter, Ryleigh, was killed instantly. Investigators later learned she was not strapped in at the time of the crash.
But as first responders worked the devastating scene, they would soon realize they were looking at just the tip of an iceberg of horror.
Investigators would soon expose allegations of wicked child abuse - and a mother's alleged complicity in all of it.
A high-speed crash on an Alabama road has unearthed a family's darkest secrets - ones that could send a mother to prison for life. The Dec. 8 crash left Steven Bradly Collin (left) and Ryleight Collins (right) dead while Wendy Pam Bailey (center) was in critical condition
It was an out-of-state relative who asked the question that would crack the case wide open: 'Where's Kahleb? (pictured Kahleb Collins)
It was an out-of-state relative who asked the question that would crack the case wide open: 'Where's Kahleb?'
The couple's one-year-old son was nowhere to be found.
As investigators would soon discover, little Kahleb hadn't been seen since September 4 - more than three months before the crash.
Then the shocking details began to emerge.
According to court documents, Bailey made a series of chilling admissions from her hospital bed at UAB Hospital in Birmingham.
The criminal complaint obtained by AL.com states Bailey 'failed to report a missing child by delaying to make or failing to cause to be made the report with willful and reckless disregard for the safety of the child and the child suffered serious bodily harm or death, to wit: physical injuries to the child and the child was removed from the home and taken to an unknown location and no report was made by any resident of the home.'
The young mother revealed that her fiancé had sent her photographs of their baby boy that no parent should ever receive - images showing the infant hanging from a rope in a loft, his tiny body bloodied and bruised.
'He won't move,' Collins texted after sending the horrifying images, followed by 'I'm so sorry.'
Bailey's father, 55-year-old John Elton Bailey, who lived with the family, has also been charged with failure to report a missing child
Bailey was arrested on Dec. 1 and booked into the Fayette County Jail on $100,000 bail. She faces charges of aggravated child abuse, domestic violence, abuse of a corpse, and criminally negligent homicide - which could put her behind bars for life
Shortly after, Collins messaged 'He moving.'
Bailey shockingly replied: 'He just looks wore out and tried and hurt hopefully that's all.'
'Wendy Bailey failed to intervene or notify law enforcement after she was made aware of the extreme circumstances and assault that had occurred to Kahleb Collins,' the documents states.
But the most disturbing revelation was yet to come.
Bailey confessed to investigators that after Kahleb's death, his small body was placed in a bag and stored in an outdoor shed 'for a brief period' before being moved to an unknown location.
The document states: 'After Kahleb died, his body was placed into a bag and stored in an outside storage building for a brief period prior to final disposal at an unknown location.'
Photographs show the little boy bruised and face up lying on the ground as well as 'hanging from a loft with a rope with blood present on his body.'
To this day, the little boy's remains have not been found.
In the quiet backroads of Fayette County, Alabama, a December morning turned tragic when a speeding pickup truck careened off the road and slammed into a tree
Steven 'Brad' Collins, 40, was driving the morning of December 8, when his speeding truck spun out of control on Fayette County Road 73
The impact sent Collins and his fiancée, 22-year-old Wendy 'Pam' Bailey, flying from the vehicle. Their two-year-old daughter, Ryleigh, was killed instantly. Investigators later learned she was not strapped in at the time of the crash
Just weeks before the crash, Collins posted a cryptic message on Facebook about his son's health.
'Our son is not doing well,' he wrote, as reported by AL News.
'He is not growing has major back issues. His organs are growing but not his body. He has to have surgery at some point. Keep him in your prayers. Been rough and just seems going to be a long rough road ahead of us.'
Bailey was arrested on December 1. She was released from UAB Hospital and booked into the Fayette County Jail on $100,000 bail.
She faces charges of aggravated child abuse, domestic violence, abuse of a corpse, and criminally negligent homicide - which could put her behind bars for life.
Bailey's father, 55-year-old John Elton Bailey, who lived with the family, has also been charged with failure to report a missing child.
District Attorney Andy Hamlin is seeking to hold Bailey without bond under Aniah's Law, describing the investigation as 'particularly challenging' due to the deaths of two young children.
'This investigation has been particularly challenging as it involved the tragic deaths of two young children,' District Attorney Hamlin said.
Bailey confessed to investigators that after Kahleb's death, his small body was placed in a bag and stored in an outdoor shed 'for a brief period' before being moved to an unknown location. Photographs show the little boy hanging from a loft with a rope and blood on his body
'I want to commend the efforts and cooperation shown by every agency involved: the Fayette County Sheriff's Office, the State Bureau of Investigation and the Alabama State Troopers.'
Investigators continue their search for Kahleb's remains.
The sheriff's office has urged anyone with information to come forward.
A preliminary hearing is set for January 15, where more details of this heartbreaking case are expected to emerge.
