Mom Can’t Put 5-Year-Old Up For Adoption, So She Incinerated Her
A Concerning Welfare Check
At around 1:00 p.m. on May 30th, 2023, Officer Sheffer with the Aurora Police Department in Colorado was dispatched to a home located at 1056 South Elkhart Way. The reporting party, Asia Whitley Shaw, requested a welfare check to be done on her granddaughter, 5-year-old Mahali Hobbs. The little girl lived in Apartment 305 with her mother, Alexis Nelson. Asia, who lives out of state, became concerned after learning that Alexis may have given Mahali up for adoption.
Along with Officer Duran, Officer Sheffer made contact with Mahali’s mother, Alexis. She stated that she had given up custody of Mahali through what she referred to as a closed adoption. Alexis claimed that she had done so through an organization called Adoptions With Love and provided the officers with a phone number for the agency.
Officer Duran contacted Adoptions With Love via the phone number that Alexis provided him and spoke with a woman named Amy Cohen, who serves as the program director. After looking through her records, Ms. Cohen confirmed that the agency had nothing for an Alexis Nelson on file; therefore, they did not have any involvement with Mahali’s alleged adoption. Now, it should be noted that Adoptions With Love is an agency out of Massachusetts, and Alexis is in Colorado, so I have no idea what she was even playing at.
The Lie Unravels
Shortly after, Officer Sheffer reached out to Detective Jacob Schwartz and shared with him the details of what he had learned thus far. Alexis’s story was not adding up, and a little girl was missing. The detective then conducted a search of the Colorado court system for Alexis Nelson and Mahali Hobbs and found there was no record on file of any adoption. Rightly concerned, Detective Schwartz contacted the Arapahoe County Department of Human Services and confirmed they did not have any records of Alexis or Mahali on file, nor was there any adoption.
Armed with this new information, Detectives Schwartz and Roberts responded to Alexis’s South Elkhart Way address and made contact with the mother. After informing her that Adoptions With Love had no records of her or Mahali on file, she, of course, changed her story. She claimed she had reached out to Adoptions With Love and they provided her with a list of other agencies to work with. Through this alleged list, she came in contact with a woman named Janet Dunn. It was Ms. Dunn who allegedly facilitated Mahali’s adoption to an unidentified couple.
However, Alexis was unable to tell the detectives which agency Ms. Dunn worked for and claimed that she had thrown away all of the documents pertaining to the adoption because she didn’t want her family to go looking for her daughter. She stated she believed she might still have emails from Ms. Dunn in her deleted inbox and volunteered to provide the detectives with access to her cell phone. However, when the detectives searched through her email, they were unable to find any such correspondence related to an adoption. Alexis also allowed the detectives to search through her image gallery, which was devoid of any pictures of little Mahali.
Suspicious Circumstances
Sensing something was definitely amiss, Detective Schwartz seized the cell phone as evidence. Through their extensive conversations with Alexis, she was unable to provide any information that would assist in locating Mahali’s supposed adoptive parents. Instead, she provided vague answers to questions, such as stating that she met Janet Dunn in West Denver on May 4th, 2023, but could not remember exactly where they met.
By now, the Aurora Police Department had a pretty good feeling that there wasn’t any adoption and that Alexis was weaving a web of really poorly constructed lies. With this in mind, officers began canvassing the apartment building. During their search, officers got a chance to speak with 26-year-old Nick Bagel. He was a building maintenance worker.
Nick stated that he had actually been to Apartment 305 on May 5th, 2023, and had entered to perform a routine biannual inspection of the unit. Upon entry, he found the door to Mahali’s room was connected to the bathroom door on the opposite side of the hall via a string, which prevented it from being opened. He heard sounds inside that appeared to be coming from a television. When he cut the string that was binding the two doors together, he found that the door to the room was actually locked. He then heard Alexis yelling at him through a baby monitor to leave, and rightfully afraid that Alexis could have had some other Kevin McCallister-style traps in her apartment, he left.
Digital Evidence and Family Interviews
After speaking with Nick and completing the cursory search of the building, Alexis provided the officers with consent to search her unit for any evidence that would help in locating Mahali. While looking through the house, Mahali’s room was completely empty, and the carpet was extremely dirty with various stains of unknown origin. There was a notable lack of any children’s items in the apartment.
On the evening of May 30th, Detective Schwartz obtained a search warrant for Alexis’s phone. He and Detective Roberts then began a manual review of the data. While looking through the Google search history, Detective Roberts found two Google searches on May 2nd, 2023. They were listed as “can you overdose from melatonin” and “can you overdose from Xanax.” Detective Roberts also found videos of Mahali in the camera roll. In the video, she appeared to be saying goodbye to family.
On May 30th and 31st, Detective Schwartz spoke with various members of Alexis’s family on the phone. He first talked with Mahali’s father, Terrell Hobbs. He stated the last time he saw his daughter was about two and a half years ago. This was during a trip when Alexis and Mahali came to visit him. After that trip, for about six months, Alexis would sporadically call him via FaceTime and let him see his little girl. But about two years ago, Alexis stopped answering phone calls, and she cut off all contact with Terrell. He had not had any contact with Alexis or his daughter since then.
Detective Schwartz next spoke with Alexis’s younger sister, Mercedes Nelson. Mercedes stated that she normally spoke with Alexis via text message but that it is normal to go weeks without talking to her. She stated that she was generally the one who had to make first contact and it was rare for Alexis to even call her. She said the last time she saw Mahali was on May 3rd, 2023, when she received an unprompted FaceTime call from her sister. She said the call was very short and only lasted about 30 seconds. According to Mercedes, she began to get concerned after Alexis had made a comment to their mother about “rehoming” Mahali. Mercedes then texted Alexis earlier that week inquiring about this. Alexis responded by saying that she had given up custody via a closed adoption but refused to provide any information regarding this alleged adoption.
The detective then spoke with Alexis’s father, Micus Nelson. He said his contact with Alexis was infrequent, as he would try to call her often, but she rarely answered her phone. He stated that he, too, also received a FaceTime call from Alexis on May 3rd, 2023. He said the call was very short and that Alexis appeared to be directing Mahali with what to say, such as “Tell Granddad hi,” “Tell him you love him,” “Tell him bye.”
Lastly, Detective Schwartz spoke with Alexis’s mother, Asia, who called in the initial complaint. Asia stated that she normally texted Alexis a few times each week and would try to call her, but Alexis rarely answered her phone. She said last year they spoke more frequently, but that Mahali was rarely in these videos, which she found odd. On May 23rd, 2023, she asked Alexis if she needed help setting up a savings account for Mahali. Alexis replied that she was already getting help from a couple. Alexis then sent her a text stating, “My rent has gone up again, so rehoming and I’ve been looking at fostering end.” When Asia tried to clarify if she was referring to Mahali or a pet, Alexis did not reply. It should be noted that Alexis didn’t have any pets that officers could find.
The Missing Records
Detective Schwartz then asked Asia if Alexis had ever mentioned adoption before. It was then that Asia shared with the detective exactly how she found out she was a grandmother. She said they did not even know Alexis was pregnant. On the day Mahali was born, she received a picture from Alexis with a text that stated:
“Meet Mahali Hobbs. She’s 35 weeks, 5.2 lbs, born yesterday morning at 11:48 a.m. at 19 inches in length. You would have known about her grand entrance sooner, but my original plan was to have her adopted by a family more suitable to provide for her without struggling. Though I still believe open adoption is the best move for her to never need for anything and myself so I may finish school, have a career with benefits, and my family nearby before starting a family. She’s here and ungiven up, so meet your first grandbaby.”
Asia then shared that, much like Mercedes and Micus, the last time she saw Mahali was on May 3rd via a video Alexis had sent. In this video, Alexis directed Mahali to say hi and bye to her grandmother.
Detective Schwartz then circled back and contacted Amy Cohen from Adoptions With Love. Ms. Cohen stated her agency keeps records of families they provide resources to, even if they don’t provide an adoption. She looked through their records going back to 2020 and had no record of being contacted by Alexis whatsoever. She said they also do not facilitate adoptions for children that are Mahali’s age. She then provided the names of two agencies in Colorado—as we mentioned before, Adoptions With Love is based in Massachusetts, and this case takes place in Aurora, Colorado. These agencies were called Adoption Options and Colorado Christian Services. Ms. Cohen added that she did not know anyone by the name of Janet Dunn.
With this new information in hand, the detective then contacted both Colorado Christian Services and Adoption Options. Both agencies confirmed that they would not facilitate an adoption of a 5-year-old and would only refer the child over to DHS. Both agencies had no record of Alexis or Mahali, nor did they know anyone by the name of Janet Dunn. Detective Schwartz also confirmed that legal adoption in Colorado is not possible without the consent of the father and that all adoptions, closed or open, are recorded in state court. Terrell Hobbs never consented to any adoption.
A Gruesome Discovery
On May 31st, 2023, at around 1:30 p.m., Detective Roberts obtained a search warrant for 1056 South Elkhart Way, Apartment 305. At around 6:00 p.m., Detective Schwartz and the members of the Crimes Against Children and Crime Scene Investigation units responded to the home in order to conduct a search of the residence. Based on the information gathered thus far in the investigation, the goal of the search was to locate any evidence that would lead to the discovery of Mahali Hobbs, dead or alive.
Shortly after the search warrant was executed, Detective Jenkins opened the door to a utility closet located on the exterior patio of the apartment. Upon opening the door to the closet, he immediately noticed what he recognized to be the distinct odor of decomposing flesh. The closet was filled with various children’s items that appeared to belong to Mahali. After removing boxes from the closet, he found a large shopping bag that contained another plastic bag inside. It was at this point Detective Schwartz joined him outside and also noticed the strong odor of decomposition.
As Detective Jenkins opened this bag, the odor became overpowering. Inside the bag, the pair observed what appeared to be charred human remains. The search of the residence was then paused, and the Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office was notified.
At around 7:00 p.m., investigators from the Coroner’s Office arrived on scene and began their investigation. After taking photographs, they opened up the bag and began looking through these remains. Inside the bag appeared to be various bones as well as what looked to be a rib cage. The size of the remains appeared to be consistent with that of a 5-year-old little girl. Based on the charred appearance of the remains, detectives then conducted a search of the fireplace located in the living room adjacent to the balcony. The fireplace appeared to have been recently used based on the presence of various burnt matter on the floor. While searching, detectives found bone fragments as well as a bone that appeared to be either a rib or a shoulder blade.
The Arrest
At 9:20 p.m., Alexis Nelson was placed under arrest and was charged with a laundry list of crimes related to the disappearance of her daughter, Mahali Hobbs. She was charged with one count each of child abuse resulting in death, tampering with a deceased human body, tampering with physical evidence, and attempting to influence a public servant via fraud or false statement. The last charge stemmed from Alexis’s claim that she had placed Mahali up for adoption with the intent of obscuring the investigation.
On the morning of June 1st, 2023, the Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office conducted an autopsy of the remains and confirmed that they were indeed human. However, further DNA testing needed to be conducted in order to confirm if they belonged to Mahali. According to Aurora Police Chief Art Acevedo, there was a high probability that homicide charges would be filed at some point. “It was tough to see our cops that had to find that little angel in the condition that they found her in, and we’re highly confident that this is going to end up being our missing child.”
As of the date of this recording, Alexis Nelson remains behind bars at the Arapahoe County Detention Center on a $100,000 bond.
We normally close out our stories with something about the victim, but unfortunately, there isn’t anything that’s been made public that we’re able to share at this point. Mahali’s body—if it is indeed her—was so badly burned that it will take weeks to make a positive identification. She does not even have an obituary yet. What we can share, however, is that if Alexis wanted to get rid of her little girl so badly, then why not reach out to Mahali’s father, Terrell? Why not reach out to her family, or even to these adoption agencies that she seemed to know so much about? They could have, at the very least, pointed her in the right direction. As of the date of this recording, Safe Haven laws in Colorado only pertain to infants up to 72 hours old. Something needs to be done to expand on this law.
