Human remains believed to be missing 1-year-old found in burn pile at family home in Fayette County

By Riley Conlon

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    FAYETTE COUNTY, Ala. (WVTM) — Human remains have been found in Fayette County, believed to be those of missing, yet presumed dead, one-year-old Kahleb Collins.

The discovery was announced Thursday evening by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, which stated that officers found the remains in a burn pile at the family’s residence. It comes after several searches of the property in the past months.

Those remains have been sent off for forensic identification.

“This is a heartbreaking outcome, and our thoughts and prayers are with all those who loved Kahleb,” said Sheriff Byron Yerby. “While this discovery brings a measure of closure, it is also a solemn reminder of the responsibility we all share in protecting our children. We are committed to continuing the pursuit of justice in this case.”

Collins was first reported missing in December of 2024 after a violent car crash claimed the lives of two-year-old Ryleigh Collins and 40-year-old Steven Collins, sister and father of missing Kahleb.

Kahleb’s mother, Wendy Bailey, was also in the vehicle.

The sheriff’s office said law enforcement was told a day later that the man and woman in the crash “had another child” who was unaccounted for, according to a news release.

On Dec. 11, John Elton Bailey, Kahleb’s custodian, was taken into custody for failing to report a missing child. Court documents show there were physical injuries to the child, and he was removed from the home and taken to an unknown location, but no report was made by anyone in the home.

Both John and Wendy are facing multiple offenses, including domestic violence, abuse of a corpse, criminally negligent homicide, and aggravated child abuse.

In the corpse abuse complaint, prosecutors claim that Bailey stated that “upon the death of Kahleb Rowan Collins his body was placed into a bag and stored in an outside storage building for a brief period prior to disposal at an unknown location.”

“After being notified by Steven Collins (Kahleb’s father) via message that he was going to kill Kahleb Collins followed by photographs of Kahleb Collins hanging aloft with a rope with blood present on his body and a photo of Kahleb Collins lying supine on the floor with extreme bruising present on his body,” the complaint said.

The filing shows quotes from additional messages with original grammar from Steven Collins to Bailey “that stated ‘he want move’ ‘Im so sorry.’ Steven then sent ‘he moving.’ Wendy Bailey acknowledged the photograph and replied ‘he just looks wore out and tired and hurt hopefully that’s all.'”

As for the aggravated child abuse, prosecutors argued that Bailey admitted to “failing to intervene on more than two occasions that Khaleb Rowan Collins was physically abused by torturous means such as being bound with rope, physically assaulted, and being bound by a rope from a loft with blood and bruising present.”

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