A 10-year-old was murdered, allegedly at the hands of a woman who should have been on a restricted list because of past allegations of horrific child abuse.
Caprice Williams is accused of murdering 10-year-old Malayshia Alford and leaving her body in South Jersey. Williams, a Philadelphia public school teacher, has a troubling past.
In a 2021 lawsuit, Williams was accused of beating and starving a child inside her Simpson Street home so badly that the child nearly died. The suit was settled out of court in 2024.
The investigators’ own words, according to court documents, Williams should “never be used as a foster parent for other children in the future.”
“Under no circumstance was Malaysia supposed to be placed in Caprice Williams’ home,” Nadeem Bezar, an attorney at Kline and Specter, said.
Despite an investigation revealing that Williams shouldn’t be a foster parent again, a DHS subcontractor in July of 2025 sent Malayshia to live with Williams on North Simpson Street.
“She was placed in this home that we are all familiar with now, the Caprice Williams home, where the nightmare just continued,” Bezar said.Carprice Williams
Philadelphia Police
Bezar said the case has grown only more personal. It turns out Malayshia was already his client.
“The name rang a bell right away, and we stopped and wondered where we heard it before,” Bezar said.
Attorneys had been investigating claims that Malayshia was physically and sexually abused at another foster home before she lived with Williams. The lawyers said they were following news of Malayshia’s disappearance.
“Information had turned over that she had been murdered, and that the foster parent was the same foster parent that we had seen previously,” Bezar said.
Philadelphia’s DHS has launched an administrative investigation into what went wrong.
“DHS has some involvement, but the private agencies are the ones certifying these homes and checking on these homes and checking on the children in these homes,” Bezar said.
Attorneys said it’s not clear yet how Williams was able to avoid triggering alarms when it came to child abuse clearances. has learned that’s part of the investigation.
The Defender Association, which is representing Williams, has declined to comment.
In a statement, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services said it’s “committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of children throughout the Commonwealth. Our thoughts are with Malayshia’s family and loved ones.”
also reached out to the Philadelphia’s Department of Human Services, but we’ve yet to hear back.