Police bodycam footage showed the terrifying moment an officer found the body of a missing two-year-old in Las Vegas.
Jacoby Robinson Jr. was found dead in a dumpster near Lewis Avenue and 14th Street on June 7 after his mother, Diaja Smith, 23, called 911 claiming he had been abducted from a park.
Shortly afterward, the toddler’s mother and father, Jacoby Robinson Sr., 24, were arrested and indicted by a grand jury. charges of murder and child abuse.
Police now believe Jacoby Jr. died before his mother threw his body in the trash, according to documents obtained by 8 News Now.
The shocking clip showed the moment a city guard looked into the nearly empty dumpster and found the dead boy.
Jacoby Robinson Jr. was found dead in a dumpster near Lewis Avenue and 14th Street on June 7 after his mother, Diaja Smith, 23, called 911 claiming he had been abducted from a park
“F***, f****, f***, f***, f***, f*** – look at that,” the officer said to his partner in a voice filled with fear.
The video begins with officers arriving at the dumpster and one of them shining a flashlight inside.
Then he curses uncontrollably and takes a deep breath as his partner runs to the trash can and looks inside.
“Call the subway,” the officer says to his partner.
Other surveillance footage showed Diaja pushing a stroller just before she called 911 earlier that day.
The clip shows the mother pushing two children in a stroller while holding another child in a baby carrier on her chest.
She walks quickly through a parking lot with three children before crossing the street as another camera captures her walking toward a dumpster that is out of frame. Police believe Jacoby was already dead in the stroller.
Although she is not seen, a loud bang can be heard in the video just before she walks back with just two children. Police believe Jacoby was already dead in the stroller before she was thrown in the trash.
Photos of Jacoby Jr.’s body obtained by 8 News Now showed “significant signs of physical trauma to [his] “Head, torso and buttocks,” the documents said.
Shortly afterward, Diaja (pictured) and the boy’s father, Jacoby Robinson Sr., 24, were arrested and indicted by a grand jury on murder and child abuse charges.
Police believe Diaja threw her son’s body in the trash just after 8 p.m. that day, documents say. She has since confessed that he was dead before he was thrown in the trash.
Authorities now suspect the mother and father beat their son and his younger brother with electric cords and belts, documents show.
Police suspect Diaja dumped her son’s body in the trash just after 8 p.m. that day, documents show.
Hours earlier, around 12:44 p.m., search history showed someone had searched Jacoby Sr.’s phone for “how to perform CPR,” documents show.
Further search history revealed that someone had used the phone to make calls and look up bus tickets from Las Vegas to Los Angeles.
In her 911 call, the mother said, “I can’t think right now. I just don’t understand. I don’t understand what happened.”
Diaja later admitted to police that her deceased son was dead in the stroller, but she denied hitting her children. She said Jacoby Jr. had had a seizure earlier that day, police said.
In a recent interview in prison, Jacoby Sr. denies physically harming his children.
“I don’t even cheer at my children and I didn’t kill my son,” he said.
When asked who took his son’s life, Jacoby Sr. replied, “Allegedly, my girlfriend.”
Diaja is seen pushing a stroller with three children just before she reported Jacoby Jr. missing. On the way back, only two children were with her
In a recent interview from prison, Jacoby Sr. denied that he had physically abused his children. “I don’t even spank my children and I didn’t kill my son,” he said.
Letters obtained by 8 News Now show Diaja and Jacoby Sr. having harrowing conversations about their son’s death.
“I feel so bad because I feel like I didn’t do the same for you, I was just on autopilot trying not to crash,” she said.
‘[Censored]why didn’t i listen when i told you to stop cheering when you told me to stop cheering on the kids. i really hope you can forgive me. deep down i really love you. i cherished every moment with you. i wish i cooked one last meal for us. i’m sorry i didn’t think it through.
The couple have five children together, but the two oldest are no longer in their care, according to family members.
According to the documents, Diaja regained custody of Jacoby Jr. and two younger siblings in April.
Records show that the Clark County Family Services Department had contacted the family three times previously.
The toddler’s cause of death has not yet been released. DailyMail.com reached out to the Clark County Coroner’s Office.
As of Thursday, Diaja and Jacoby Sr. remain in custody without bail. They are expected to appear in court on August 8.