Body of abduction suspect found in DC park, 8

AP

The man suspected of killing his wife and abducting an 8-year-old girl was found dead of a suicide in an expansive Washington, D.C. park, police said Monday.

Authorities were actually searching for the body of little Relisha Rudd, who has been missing since Feb. 26 and is presumed dead, when they found Khalil Tatum, 51, in Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens in the northeast section of the city.

'This discovery was a shock for us,' D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said at a press conference Monday, according to WRC-TV. 'We were focused on finding Relisha. There's a lot of evidence to be processed from what we found [Monday].'

A foot search for little Relisha Rudd - who was last seen with Tatum on March 1 - was launched last week at the 700-acre park after investigators learned the wanted man bought tools likely used to bury the child's body.

Police say Tatum - also suspected of killing his 51-year-old wife, Andrea - was spotted at a nearby store buying supplies that included contractor-sized garbage bags and lime, which can be used to speed up the decomposition of a dead body, police said.

Witnesses also reported seeing Kahlil, a janitor at the city homeless shelter where Relisha lived, spending a lot of time at the park on March 2.

AP

'We cannot ignore the possibility that he may have killed her,' Police Chief CAthy Lanier said at a press conference last week.

Divers were also helping to search the Anacostia River and other bodies of water within the park for evidence.

Authorities plan to continue scouring the park for any sign of the missing girl. Police would not say how long Tatum's body had been in the park, or if he'd left anything behind, like a suicide note.

'We are still here for the reason we came to begin with -- to look for Relisha,' Lanier said. 'We're not finished here.'

Police said they were slow to issue an Amber Alert for the missing girl, because no one immediately contacted the authorities. Investigators first learned of Relisha's disappearance after school officials reported she had been absent for several days.

AP

Police say Relisha's mother, Shamika Young, allowed her daughter to be with Tatum before the pair disappeared.

But Young told WRC-TV she didn't know her daughter was missing.

'I thought she was at my sister's house,' Young told the local NBC affiliate. 'I didn't want to lose my other three kids. That's why I didn't call the police.'

Tatum was considered armed and dangerous.

jkemp@nydailynews.com