Police: Mother Knew of Infant’s Torturous Abuse, Death & Disposal

New court documents filed Tuesday allege that an Alabama mother knew that her infant son was abusively tortured and killed by his father months ago, long before the deadly crash that brought this case to light.

As the Thread reported Monday, 22-year-old Wendy Bailey has been charged with four felonies related to the deaths of her 1-year-old son, Kahleb Collins, and her 2-year-old daughter, Ryleigh Collins.

What became a weeks-long investigation began with a catastrophic car wreck in Fayette County on December 8th.

Alabama State Troopers say Steven Collins, the father of both children, drove his truck into a tree at high speed. He, Bailey and Ryleigh were in the vehicle, and none were wearing seatbelts. Collins, 40, and the young girl died in the crash.

Bailey survived and has been in intensive care for the last three weeks.

After the crash, though, investigators were made aware of Kahleb - the one-year-old boy who was unaccounted for after the accident. He wasn't in the truck, and a massive search was launched to find the infant.

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On Monday, Fayette County district attorney Andy Hamlin said police now believe Kahleb has been dead for months.

Wendy Bailey was charged with aggravated child abuse, first-degree domestic violence, and abuse of a corpse for her role in Kahleb's death and disappearance, and she was moved from the hospital where she has been receiving treatment to the Fayette County Jail.

Bailey was also charged with the criminally negligent homicide of her 2-year-old daughter, Ryleigh, for allowing her to be in the truck and unrestrained when Steven Collins crashed it.

On Tuesday, court documents were filed that outline in graphic detail allegations that Bailey knew Collins was torturing Kahleb and intended to kill him.

In the complaint filed with the domestic violence charge, prosecutors say Steven Collins sent a text message to Wendy Bailey telling her that he was going to kill the boy. He then sent a picture "of Kahleb Collins hanging aloft with a rope, with blood present on his body," and a photo of "Kahleb Collins lying supine on the floor with extreme bruising present on his body."

Steven Collins, the boy's 40-year-old father, then sent messages saying that the boy had stopped moving, that he was sorry.

Bailey reportedly responded with a message saying Kahleb just looked "wore out and tired and hurt."

"Hopefully that's all," she allegedly wrote.

Bailey never notified law enforcement of the abuse, which allegedly took place in July 2024.

In a separate deposition tied to the corpse abuse charge, police say sometime between September and October, Kahleb died.

"Wendy Pamela Jean Bailey stated that upon the death of Kahleb Rowan Collins, his body was placed into a bag and stored in an outside storage building for a brief period prior to final disposal at an unknown location."

The alleged abuser, Steven Collins, died shortly after the wreck which also killed Ryleigh Collins and injured Bailey.

Bailey, 22, is still in the Fayette County Jail, where investigators have requested she be held without bond pursuant to Aniah's Law.

For updates on this case as they become available, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.