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Wanted for Fatherhood

November 26, 2011 permalink

Police are looking for father Ricky Doodhnaught and one of his children. The mother was arrested while CAS was snatching one child, but Ricky fled with the other.

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Police seek Woodbridge man and child after violation of child services order

Ricky Doodhnaught
Ricky Doodhnaught is believed to be driving a silver 2002 Dodge Caravan with Ontario licence plate BMJZ 199.
Dylan C. Robertson Staff Reporter

Police are seeking a Woodbridge man and his child in connection with the contravention of a Children’s Aid Society court order.

Police and child services officers attended a Vaughan home to apprehend two children under a court order. The mother was arrested and one child was taken into custody, but the father fled, police said. Police are now trying to locate the missing father and child.

Police have identified a suspect. Ricky Doodhnaught, 31, of Woodbridge is described as brown-skinned, 5-foot-10, 240 pounds with short black hair and brown eyes. He is believed to be driving a silver 2002 Dodge Caravan with Ontario licence plate BMJZ 199.

Anyone with information is asked to call 1-866-876-5423 ext. 7241 or Crime Stoppers’ anonymous tip line at 416-222-TIPS (8477).

Source: Toronto Star

The investigation has morphed into a homicide case.

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Child missing, Woodbridge man being investigated

York Regional Police are investigating a Woodbridge man after he violated a court order issued by the Children’s Aid Society.

Investigators and case workers were at the suspect’s house in Vaughan last Thursday to remove two children in the suspect’s custody under court order.

The mother of the children was arrested at the scene and one child was taken from their custody.

The father has since fled from police and investigators, taking his two-month-old son with him.

Homicide has stepped in for the week-long investigation.

Authorities are concerned for the infant’s health because he was born premature.

In a news conference to the media, police stated the nine-week-old infant had not been seen for over a month. It was first reported that the baby, George, was in the care of the suspect’s relative.

Police investigation confirmed the facts were not true and some family members were not aware the couple even had a child, according to police.

Police say the suspect and his child failed to show up for a doctor’s appointment as recently as Wednesday, which causes the department great concern.

While the Homicide Unit does not suspect there is a homicide to investigate, the unit also investigates missing persons and has strong suspicions of foul play.

The suspect and his infant were last seen at a doctor’s appointment in the Woodbridge area on October 31, according to police.

Ricky Doodhnaught, 31, of Woodbridge, is wanted for two incidents involving theft of gas.

He is described as male, brown, 5’10”, 240 lbs. He has short black hair and brown eyes.

Police believe Doodhnaught is driving a silver Dodge Caravan, 2002 with one of two Ontario license plate numbers: BMJZ 199 OR BFJT 783.

Police are appealing to the public for help. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 1-866-287-5025 or 905-773-1221 ext. 7865, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS.

Source: Toronto Star

Father Ricky Doodhnaught has been arrested, but is staying mum on the location of his son, George Doodhnaught.

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Police hunt for baby after arresting dad

George Doodhnaught
Baby George
(QMI AGENCY PHOTO)

A GTA-wide search for the father of a missing baby ended Tuesday afternoon with the arrest of Ricky Doodhnaught.

But his nine-week-old son has still not been located by authorities, said York Regional Police homicide Det.-Sgt. Larry Wilson.

Doodhnaught, 31, “has not co-operated with us in any way, and has not provided us with any information on the whereabouts of his son, George, or the safety of the baby,” Wilson told the Toronto Sun.

He said the prematurely-born baby has no known serious health concerns, but he remains “vulnerable” due to his small stature and obvious helplessness.

The lack of information or help in finding him “is very frustrating and very concerning,” Wilson said.

“We’re basically looking for a needle in a haystack,” he said.

Toronto Police officers last weekend found the van driven by Doodhnaught, who was wanted for contravening a custody order and was the subject of two outstanding arrest warrants for unrelated criminal offences.

York officers plus CAS caseworkers visited a City of Vaughan home on Nov. 24 armed with a court order to seize two children.

The mother was arrested and an 11-month-old child was removed “to a place of safety,” but Doodhnaught escaped, police stated.

Wilson said the father was not with their much-sought baby at the time of her arrest.

“It is our information that the mother has not seen George since early November,” he said.

She was charged on outstanding, unrelated arrest warrants and has since been released from custody, Wilson said.

Her name has not been released.

Baby George was reported missing last week.

Relatives denied caring for him and some told police they were unaware the couple had a second child, Wilson said.

He said officers were “going to all family members ... hitting it pretty hard, and to anyone with an association with Ricky or his wife.”

It was information pieced together from relatives that led to Doodhnaught’s arrest at a family member’s apartment on Driftwood Ave., Wilson said.

The investigation was taken over last week by the York Regional Police Homicide Unit, which also investigates cases of missing people if foul play is suspected.

Source: London Free Press

Addendum: Two years later a reporter works out the whole story. The boy, George, stopped breathing and the parents feared to call for help in part because they thought CAS would take their other child.

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Secrets still shroud dumpster baby's death

Ricky Ray Doodhnaught and George Doodhnaught
Ricky Ray Doodhnaught (left) and his son, George.
Photo : YRP photo

The lies started Sept. 23, 2011 and no one is really sure if they ever stopped.

It was on this day Nadia Ayyad hid her pregnancy from a Children's Aid Society worker, who was there to monitor the care of her first son, Ricky Ray Doodhnaught Jr., by saying it was her clothes that made her look big.

Four days later, the 24-year-old Woodbridge resident, formerly a heavy drug user, had her second baby boy about six weeks premature.

His remains now lie beneath piles of waste in landfill site and his parents have been convicted of committing an indignity to his body. Ms Ayyad was sentenced yesterday to 27 months in jail for this and other crimes. She'll serve just four more months, as her time spent in jail since her arrest was taken into account.

According to an agreed statement of facts from the case against her former partner and the boy's father, Ricky Ray Doodhnaught, she chose her dad's name, George, for the boy.

Soon after his birth, nurses at the Etobicoke hospital, unaware CAS was already involved with Ms Ayyad, detected inconsistency with the way she fed the newborn and contacted the agency.

Days later, it was agreed instead of her, Mr. Doodhnaught would become the primary caregiver for both children.

The last time agency workers would see the tiny infant was when the couple were subject to a home visit at their basement apartment on Torii Street, near Pine Valley Drive and Hwy. 7, in Vaughan.

When Mr. Doodhnaught took the baby to see a Vaughan paediatrician five days later, the doctor came back with excellent news – little George was healthy.

The doctor later told police the same thing he told Mr. Doodhnaught that day, the thrush infection with which George was diagnosed was gone and his heart murmur had disappeared.

It was at this point all contact with the authorities ceased.

The following day, Ms Ayyad missed an appointment with CAS and, later in the day, the agency was told there had been a death in the family and the couple had to attend a funeral in London, Ont.

According to court documents, Mr. Doodnaught would later say this was an excuse to buy the couple time.

What happened in the lead-up to that lie is only known to Mr. Doodhnaught and Ms. Ayyad.

But it was clear their actions became erratic.

After several no-shows to scheduled CAS appointments, the agency eventually visited the couple's home.

Upon arrival, they discovered the couple had vacated the premises without notice a week before.

On Nov. 21, 2011, citing "disorganization, manipulation, mental health concerns with respect to Ayyad and dishonesty", CAS requested and received a warrant to apprehend Ricky Ray Jr. and George Doodhnaught.

The following day, CAS contacted Ms Ayyad, who said everything was fine before she hung up the phone.

It was at this point York Regional Police's homicide and missing person unit joined the investigation.

Police immediately made a number of startling discoveries.

Ms Ayyad's father, George Ayyad, told police his daughter told her mother CAS had taken her child at birth and that little George had died.

Soon after this conversation, poilice spoke with a bartender at a Toronto Comfort Inn.

According to court documents, the woman told police Ms Ayyad spent a lot of time in the establishment, often with her then-10-month old son, Ricky Ray Jr.

Although she had never seen Ms Ayyad's younger son, the bartender said she had seen pictures of the infant on Ms Ayyad's cellphone.

She allegedly told the woman the baby was with her mother, as it was "too much for her to cope with".

Police would eventually trace the phone Ms Ayyad had been using to call her mother to the Comfort Inn, where employees said she had lived for an extended period.

The hunt for the pair heated up later that same day after Mr. Doodhnaught, while driving a silver Dodge Caravan, was observed by police speeding through an intersection.

He would later lead Toronto police on a dangerous chase through the city, hitting a cruiser at one point.

During the chase, Mr. Doodhnaught dropped Ms Ayyad and Ricky Ray Jr. out of the car before making his escape.

It was at this point Ms Ayyad was taken into custody for an outstanding warrant and Ricky Ray Jr. was held by CAS, where he remains.

In a subsequent interview, she claimed George was not in the car.

Days later, police closed in on Mr. Doodhnaught after locating his car, which was filled with "unspecified property", according to court documents.

He was soon found hiding behind a mattress at his aunt's home.

During a Dec. 6, 2011 interview, Mr. Doodnaught refused to say if George was alive or provide details on his condition.

It was three days later police eventually got Mr. Doodnaught's version of events.

During the interview, he told police George had died a "day or two" after Halloween, saying the pair had put the baby in their bed because he was crying, but when he awoke, George was not moving and Mr. Doodnaught's attempts to perform CPR were unsuccessful.

He claimed Ms Ayyad told him to stop his attempts, yelling: "Stop, he is already gone", according to court documents.

Although he admitted to police he should have called 911, he said he didn't because there was a warrant out for his arrest in relation to a gas theft and he was afraid his other son might be taken away by CAS.

It was at this point, he said, he put his family in his vehicle and drove to a nearby Mac's store.

He said he put little George, who was wrapped in a blue sleeper, in a plastic garbage bag, threw him in a dumpster and drove off.

Mr. Doodhnaught said he sold George's crib a week or two later.

Ms Ayyad testified that on the day in question, Mr. Doodhnaught punched her in the face and kicked her down the stairs before he left with George, saying he was taking him to his aunt's home.

When asked why she had told her mother the baby was dead, she said Mr. Doodhnaught had made her say it.

She denied his story about the family going together to dispose of the body.

George Doodhnaught's remains could be at a landfill site in Niagara Falls or another in Blenheim, according to court documents, where at least 70,000 tons of waste have been dumped since his death.

Mr. Doodhnaught was sentenced to 10 months of pre-sentence custody plus 20 months in a provincial jail and two years probation on a charge of committing an indignity to a human body. For his failure to stop for police, he received three more months in prison and a one-year driving suspension.

Ms Ayyad was also convicted of failing to provide necessities of life and obstruct police.

Source: Metroland York Region

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