Maryland Mother Found Guilty After False Amber Alert in Death of 3-Year-Old Nola Dinkins
A Maryland mother who first told police her 3-year-old daughter had been kidnapped at gunpoint has now been found guilty in the child’s death, closing one chapter in a case that began with an Amber Alert and ended with a devastating discovery in Cecil County.
Darrian Randle was convicted of first-degree murder and child abuse charges in the death of her daughter, Nola Dinkins, according to Maryland court records cited by Fox 29. Her sentencing is scheduled for October 2, 2026, in Cecil County Circuit Court.
The case started on June 10, 2025, when Randle contacted New Castle County police and reported that Nola had been taken in Newark, Delaware. The claim triggered an urgent search for the missing child, with investigators initially treating the case as a possible abduction.
But police soon began finding problems with the story.
According to court documents cited in the report, Maryland State Police went to Randle’s home in North East, Maryland, where they spoke with her boyfriend, Cedrick Antoine Britten. Britten allegedly told investigators that Nola had left with her mother and was not inside the house.
Troopers then reviewed home camera footage. Instead of showing Randle leaving with the child, investigators said the video showed Randle leaving alone. Court documents also said troopers noticed the smell of bleach inside the home and found blue nitrate gloves in trash areas connected to Randle and Nola’s room.
The investigation later shifted from a missing child case to a homicide investigation.
Randle eventually admitted that the kidnapping report was false, according to court documents cited by Fox 29. She told police she had beaten Nola with a belt multiple times inside the home. She said the child fell to the ground and stopped moving, then she called Britten for help.
Court documents said Britten attempted CPR, but Nola was already dead. Investigators said Randle and Britten then placed the child’s body in a suitcase. Police later found remains consistent with a child in the area of Dune Drive in Cecil County, Maryland.
CBS Baltimore reported that trial evidence included phone searches, text messages and testimony from a child abuse expert. The outlet reported that a judge allowed the trial to continue after Randle’s attorney argued she was incompetent to stand trial.
Randle was found guilty of first-degree murder, first-degree child abuse resulting in the death of a child under 13, and first-degree child abuse involving a course of conduct in the home, according to court records.
Britten has also been charged in connection with the case, but the charges against him should be treated separately. He has not been convicted in the same proceeding, and Fox 29 reported that the latest court records did not detail his full legal status or future proceedings.
Why It Matters
This case shocked people because it began as the kind of emergency alert that communities are trained to take seriously. A missing child report can mobilize police, neighbors and media outlets within minutes. But investigators said this alert was built on a false story, and the truth behind it was far more tragic.
The guilty verdict also puts renewed attention on what can happen behind closed doors before a child’s death becomes public. Police and court records described warning signs inside the home, from suspicious cleaning evidence to footage that did not match the original kidnapping claim.
For Nola’s family, the verdict does not erase the loss of a 3-year-old child whose name became known because of the worst circumstances imaginable. For the court system, the next major moment comes at sentencing, when a judge will decide what punishment Randle receives for the crimes a jury has now found her guilty of committing.
The case also leaves unanswered questions around Britten’s legal path and whether additional proceedings will bring more clarity about what happened after Nola died. For now, the conviction marks a major turn in a case that began with a desperate public search and ended with a mother held responsible for her daughter’s death.
