Rilya Shenise Wilson (born September 29, 1996) was an American child who was placed in the

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family mem ...

system of the

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Department of Children and Families (DCF), and was the centerpoint of an investigation into

neglect In the context of caregiving, neglect is a form of abuse where the perpetrator, who is responsible for caring for someone who is unable to care for themselves, fails to do so. It can be a result of carelessness, indifference, or unwillingness and ...

and mismanagement in the organization. She was approximately four years old when she

disappeared An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organiza ...

on January 18, 2001. DCF did not discover her disappearance until two years later, when she was not found living at the home of her caretaker and alleged godmother or grandmother, Geralyn Graham. Rilya was placed into Graham's care by DCF after Rilya's mother, Gloria Wilson, had her parental rights terminated. Despite varying accusations regarding Rilya's parentage and how she came to be in Graham's care, the true relationship between the two is unclear.

Details involving disappearance

The last recorded

welfare check Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

of Rilya Wilson took place in early January 2001, by

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

er Deborah Muskelly. Rilya's caretaker, Geralyn Graham, initially told investigators that on January 18, 2001, an unidentified

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

woman claiming to work for the

Department of Children and Families (DCF) took Rilya for an unspecified evaluation; this was the last time she supposedly saw Rilya. Despite this, Graham continued to cash checks from the state for Rilya's care. She further claimed that Muskelly was aware of Rilya's disappearance. Graham was later jailed for

identity fraud Identity fraud is the use by one person of another person's personal information, without authorization, to commit a crime or to deceive or defraud that other person or a third person. Most identity fraud is committed in the context of financial ad ...

and

Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...

fraud for accepting payments on behalf of Wilson after she went missing. Authorities denied that any state worker had ever taken Rilya for medical testing. They claimed to have first learned of Rilya's disappearance on April 25, 2002, the date she was officially reported missing. In March 2002, Muskelly and her supervisor resigned after allegations of

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

surfaced. Muskelly faced forty-one criminal charges regarding her time with DCF, including

grand theft Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

. She pled guilty to one count of official misconduct and was given five years'

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

; the remaining charges were dropped. She never faced charges directly relating to Rilya's disappearance. Manville Cash, a man currently incarcerated for

auto theft Motor vehicle theft (also known as a car theft and, in the United States, grand theft auto) is the criminal act of stealing or attempting to steal a motor vehicle. Nationwide in the United States in 2020, there were 810,400 vehicles reporte ...

and drug charges, was listed as the girl's "prospective father" on documents terminating her birth mother's parental rights. In early 2002, Cash told authorities he last saw Rilya at the home of Pamela Kendrick, Cash's aunt and sometimes mistakenly referred to as Graham's sister. Kendrick briefly had custody of Rilya in 2000 before she was removed amid allegations of

. In August 2004, Graham was charged with

kidnapping In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...

and three counts of

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...

, and Kendrick with two lesser counts of child abuse. Kendrick testified against Graham at her trial, claiming that both of them had spanked Rilya with switches and had locked her in a dog cage and in the laundry room.

Trial of supposed killer

In March 2005, a

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of an ...

Graham after she allegedly gave a detailed

confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...

to Rilya's murder. Graham had confessed to inmate Robin Lunceford, who testified at trial over four days. In her testimony, Lunceford revealed that Graham admitted to killing Rilya because the child was "evil" and was plagued by "demons" from previous abuse. Her body was supposedly buried in a ravine close by a place Graham regularly visited for fishing and cookouts. Two other inmates also testified that Graham, while behind bars, suggested she killed the child. Evidence of Rilya's abuse was presented at the trial, including the dog cage witnesses said Graham used to punish Rilya, and testimony about the girl's lengthy confinement in a small laundry room. Pamela Kendrick testified that Geralyn regularly tied Rilya to her bed using plastic restraints so she would not get up during the night. Graham alleged that a woman who claimed to work for DCF said she was removing Rilya from the home for evaluation and never returned. In January 2013, the jury convicted Graham of kidnapping and child abuse, but deadlocked 11-to-1 on the charge of murder. On February 12, the judge sentenced Graham to 30 years for kidnapping plus 25 years for aggravated child abuse. Two other abuse sentences—25 years and five years, respectively—will be served concurrently for a total of 55 years behind bars. Prosecutors had sought the maximum of

life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

plus 65 years. At 67 years old at the time of sentencing, Graham will end up serving a life sentence. The case led to the resignation of DCF director Kathleen Kearney and the passage of several reform laws, including a new missing-child-tracking system and the contracting out of foster child casework to private organizations. Lawmakers also made it illegal to falsify records of visits between caseworkers and foster children.

References

External links

America's Most Wanted
- Rilya Wilson's profile

- Rilya Wilson's profile
Rilya alert
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Rilya 1996 births 2000s missing person cases American children 2000s crimes in Florida Missing American children Missing person cases in Florida Living people 2000s in Miami 2001 in Florida

Details involving disappearance

Trial of supposed killer

See also

References

External links