Teen, 18, in an ankle monitor 'snatches four-year-old boy from his bed, stabs him to death and dumps his body on Dallas street in random attack'
A four-year-old boy was found stabbed to death on a Dallas street after he was allegedly abducted from his bed by a teen now facing charges for kidnapping.
A jogger came across the body of Cash Gernon in the city's Mountain Creek neighborhood at around 7am Saturday, Assistant Police Chief Albert Martinez said, adding that it appeared the child suffered a violent death from an 'edged weapon'.
Darriynn Brown, 18, was arrested in the case hours later and was charged with kidnapping and theft. Police said they also anticipate additional charges pending the results of a forensic analysis.
Cash was identified by his mother, who told WFAA that Brown had broken into her home through a back door early Saturday morning and snatched the 'happy-go-lucky' child while he was sleeping.
The mother, who was not named and spoke to the outlet off-camera, claimed her son was unknown to Brown and said she had no idea what led the man to target him.
Four-year-old Cash Gernon (pictured) was found stabbed to death on a street in southwest Dallas on Saturday morning
Darriynn Brown, 18, (pictured) was arrested and charged with kidnapping and theft
Antwainese Square, 39, told The Dallas Morning News she called police after seeing Cash's body on the 7500 block of Saddleridge Road just before 7am while she was out for a run.
She said the boy's face and upper half of his body were covered in blood and that he didn't have shoes or a shirt.
'It breaks my heart,' Square told the newspaper. 'And now I'm afraid. Now I'm paranoid. Because I don't know what happened, I don't know what's going on.
'I mean just knowing that someone out there is capable of killing a child, that alone is just unsettling.'
Martinez, the assistant police chief, said it's believed Cash was killed at about 5am and that he lived in the neighborhood where his body was found.
The boy appeared to have suffered multiple stab wounds.
'We are shocked, we are very angry about what has happened to this small child,' Martinez said.
Cash's mother said the kidnapping was captured on surveillance video and investigators reportedly asked neighbors for any additional footage that could help shed light on what happened.
The mother said Cash's twin brother is now in state custody but did not say why. DailyMail.com has reached out to police for clarification.
Cops are seen on the 7500 block of Saddleridge Road where Cash's body was found
Cash (pictured) was identified by his mother, who told WFAA that Brown had broken into her home through a back door early Saturday morning and snatched the 'happy-go-lucky' child while he was sleeping
Investigators roped off the crime scene on Saturday morning before Brown's arrest
Some residents told WFAA that Brown was regularly seen in the Mountain Creek area where Cash was killed. Court records showed he lived with his parents about a half-mile from the crime scene.
Neighbor Jose Ramirez called the slaying 'hard to believe' and said: 'I don't think [Brown] was in his right mind.'
By midafternoon Saturday, FBI agents were focusing on a wooded trail not far from where the body was found and police were on horseback in the area.
The trail, which neighbors said is popular for biking, was sealed off with crime-scene tape.
'They were back in the alley, looking through trash containers to see if they could find any type of evidence,' Ramirez said. 'They went down the street, and they spent a good time down there.'
Another neighbor, Katie Guillen, spoke to the outlet when she stopped by a makeshift memorial at the site where Cash's body was found to drop off flowers.
'It's just so sad that someone woke up this morning and lost their child without a warning,' Guillen said.
'How do you throw away someone's body like he's nothing? He's someone's kid.'
Brown was being held Monday in Dallas County jail on $750,000 bond. It's unclear whether he has an attorney.
At the time of his arrest late Sunday night Brown was wearing an ankle monitor stemming from a prior charge for evading arrest in late April, according to the Dallas Morning News.
A makeshift memorial is seen at the site where Cash's body was found
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