Phoenix police say a young mother reported missing after her baby was abandoned has been found dead.
Police say the body of Jasmine Dunbar, 21, was found by police aircraft late Wednesday afternoon in the area of 107th Avenue and Camelback Road. Officials are awaiting official identification of the body through scientific analysis, but the body has been tentatively identified as the missing woman.
According to police, the body was found in a field and had significant burn evidence.
Dunbar was last seen with her ex-boyfriend, 20-year-old Antwaun Travon Ware, on Tuesday night. Family members told ABC15 she left home with Ware and her 7-month-old baby around 7:30 p.m. so that Ware could take a paternity test.
Jasmine's mother, Tonya Smith, says the thought of her daughters final moments haunt her.
"She asked you to take a DNA test, how's that worth killing somebody over," said Smith. "I'm angry. I feel like, 'why God?'," said Smith.
The infant was found alone in her car seat along the road near 83rd and Minnezona avenues around 10 p.m. With the child was a single adult shoe, a diaper bag, and backpack with Dunbar's identification.
Police located Ware at his home early Wednesday morning and he agreed to come to police headquarters for an interview.
According to an official report, Ware told police that the dropped Dunbar back off at her apartment, but later changed his story to say they got into a physical altercation and he punched her several times. He said he left her still alive in the field where she was found, panicked and dropped the child off in another area so someone would find her. He said he then went back to the scene where he left Dunbar.
Police say Ware told them he put a piece of paper on Dunbar's body, poured gasoline and lit it with a cigarette. He watched as the fire burned out and left the scene to get the baby, however, he saw police already with the child and went a different direction to avoid them.
Due to evidence collected, including a gas can, police developed probable cause to arrest Ware on one count of first-degree murder, kidnapping, abandonment of a body and child abuse. He has been booked into a Maricopa County jail.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help pay for Dunbar's funeral expenses and take care of her child.
