False statements from a sheriff sparked rumors about Kingston Frazier’s mother

Details surrounding the slaying of 6-year-old Kingston Frazier are starting to crystalize after false statements from the Hinds County sheriff sparked rampant rumors and accusations of involvement by the child’s family.

Hinds County Sheriff Victor Mason said at a Thursday news conference Kingston’s mother, Ebony Archie, exited the Kroger on Interstate 55 in Jackson at 2:30 a.m. and reported to a deputy on duty at the grocery store that her car was stolen but did not mention her son was in the car until later.

“When we found out later that there was a child in the back, we immediately notified the Highway Patrol (who) put out an Amber Alert,” Mason said.

However, Jackson police Cmdr. Tyree Jones said Friday his department received a call at 1:28 a.m. “to assist Hinds County with an auto theft and child abduction in the Kroger parking lot.” Jones said a number of officers responded, with the first officer arriving at the parking lot at 1:32 a.m.

Police tweeted an alert about the incident at 2:28 a.m.

“ALERT: 2000 silver Toyota Camry stolen from Kroger parking lot on I-55 w/ 7 yoa BM child in the vehicle. MS license plate HYX 783.” the tweet said.

Warren Strain, spokesman for the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, said his agency was not notified about a missing child until about 2:45 a.m. He did not know why it took more than an hour for the sheriff’s office to contact the MBI.

When reached Friday and asked about the time disparity, Mason departed from his Thursday comment and said the initial call came in about 1:30 a.m.

In an attempt to clarify, he then said, “The Amber Alert and all that got started at 2:30.”

Strain said the MBI received the final piece of information for the Amber Alert to MBI at 4:06 a.m. The alert was issued 22 minutes later at 4:28 a.m., he said.

Strain said the time between the first notification and the last of the paperwork being filed is understandable because of the steps required. Agencies requesting an Amber Alert must fill out a form, get a department supervisor’s signature, enter the case into the National Crime Information Center database and provide a color photo.

Mason said part of the delay involved trouble getting information about the car. Archie had told authorities the car was not in her name because it had been bought from another person.

“These people bought the car from someone else, so the car was not registered to them,” Mason said. “We had to get the information about the car. The lady couldn’t tell us nothing because the car wasn’t registered to her. We had to take time to figure out the license number and serial number and everything.”

Mason could not provide details about his statements that Archie had not immediately told the deputy her son was in the car. Mason said he would have to check with the supervisor who had been on duty to get that information, despite having said it Thursday.

Archie’s aunt, Velma Eddington, disputed that law enforcement was not notified immediately that Kingston was in the stolen car.

“(Archie) told (the deputy) right then that the car was missing and her baby was in it,” Eddington said. “Why would she be concerned about an old car? Anybody who says she didn’t say the baby was missing is wrong.”

Eddington said Archie had been out with cousins and friends to celebrate her birthday, which was Tuesday. Archie picked up Kingston from Eddington’s granddaughter, who was babysitting the 6-year-old.

Eddington said Archie told her she saw a deputy outside Kroger when she went in. When she came out and found her car missing, she started frantically searching for the deputy, found him and told him her car and child had been taken.

Eddington said Archie told family members the deputy at first did not appear either to hear her or to be concerned that the child had been taken.

“Ebony said the man did not listen to her,” Eddington said. “He could have probably just followed the car right then and her baby wouldn’t be dead.

“She said he told her he had to follow protocol.”

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This story was originally published May 19, 2017 at 5:18 PM with the headline "False statements from a sheriff sparked rumors about Kingston Frazier’s mother."