SAPD chief: Tale of kidnapped infant 'made up to cover foul play'

Christopher Sampayo Davila in a booking photo for a charge of child endangerment tied to the disappearance of his 8-month-old son King Jay Davila. A portion of a graphic tattoo has been altered in this image. Christopher Sampayo Davila in a booking photo for a charge of child endangerment tied to the disappearance of his 8-month-old son King Jay Davila. A portion of a graphic tattoo has been altered in this image. Photo: Courtesy Photo: Courtesy Image 1 of / 29 Caption Close SAPD chief: Tale of kidnapped infant 'made up to cover foul play' 1 / 29 Back to Gallery

An 8-month-old infant is still missing and foul play is suspected as San Antonio police announced the arrest Monday of a relative suspected of assisting the boy’s father in staging an abduction.

“We can say without a doubt that this was not a car theft, this was not a kidnapping,” SAPD Chief William McManus said Monday during an update into the Friday disappearance of King Jay Davila. “This was a staged event as we had said previously.”

McManus said he could not elaborate on the details of what police suspect occurred to King Jay, whom he said was never in the car.

“Ask yourself, why would someone concoct such a story,” McManus said.

The woman, a cousin to King Jay’s father Christopher Davila, was arrested Monday on unrelated charges. Police said her identity would be released when she is booked into jail.

“We know who the person was who dropped her off as well,” McManus said Monday.

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King Jay’s father, 34-year-old Christopher Davila, called police to say that his car had been stolen from a convenience store at about 7 p.m. Friday in the 300 block of Enrique Barrera. A video shows a woman walking up to the vehicle and driving away.

Davila had gone inside the store to purchase items and left his car running and the door unlocked.

Investigators said that the cousin was dropped off at an adjacent street the moment before Christopher Davila arrived at the gas station. She then entered the car and drove it to an intersection near Rodriguez Park, where she left the car and walked away with the car seat, investigators said.

Police scoured Rodriguez Park on Sunday after finding a baby’s bottle. It is being tested by police to determine if it belongs to King Jay.

“Rodriguez Park was due diligence,” McManus said. “We had to search the body of water in there.”

On the Express-News: Police: Father of missing infant staged kidnapping to cover up 'foul play'

McManus took a moment during the conference to address the criticism of police by King Jay’s mother, Jasmine Gonzales, as well as a jailhouse interview done over the phone between her, King Jay’s father and a local media station.

“He spent more time speaking with the media, answering media questions, than he spent with us or answering our questions,” McManus said.

Gonzales said Sunday that, Davila, her fiancé, was innocent, and that the police were focusing more on family members rather than searching for King Jay. Both she and Davila repeated this sentiment during the jailhouse interview.

“We understand the anguish and the pain that the mother is going through right now, but I think the information that we have just uncovered throughout this day … refutes all of the allegations made against the police department in this investigation,” McManus said.

The mother has since been cooperative with police as they continue their investigation, officials said.

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McManus also thanked the FBI agents who have been assisting police in their investigation without pay because of the government shutdown.

No Amber Alert was issued for King Jay, McManus said, because the incident did not meet the criteria set by Texas Department of Public Safety.

“Even if you are not directly involved in this, if you are withholding information, if you have lied to the police, then we will charge you at the conclusion of this investigation,” McManus said.

Investigators said they have obtained details of what occurred from family members, but they are still looking “everywhere” to find King Jay.

“There’s one answer that we don’t have, and that is where is King Jay.”

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is available.

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