The Puzzling Murder Of Daphne Boyden — And The Kidnapping Of Her Baby
YouTubeLatasha Brown and Ocianetta Williams were later imprisoned for killing Daphne Boyden and abducting her child.
Lathan “Young Lay” Williams is a Bay Area rapper who has worked with the likes of Tupac Shakur, Mac Dre, and Ray Luv. Though he showed promise in his music career in the 1990s, his name would soon be forever linked to a brutal murder and a kidnapping that took place on May 17, 1996 — even though he was never a suspect in either of those horrific crimes.
Earlier that month, Williams’ 17-year-old girlfriend Daphne Boyden had given birth to his son, whom the couple had named Le-Zhan. At the time, Boyden had been living with her grandmother, Riva, who left for a bingo game on the afternoon of May 17, 1996. Later that day, two unidentified teenage girls arrived at the Boyden home under the pretext of seeing baby Le-Zhan. It was the last time anyone would ever see Daphne Boyden alive.
When Riva returned home from her bingo game, she found her house on fire, her granddaughter shot to death, and her great-grandson missing. The teenage girls were reportedly seen fleeing from the house before it was set ablaze. Police had no leads when Unsolved Mysteries aired an episode featuring the Boyden case on November 22, 1996.
YouTubeDaphne Boyden, before she was found murdered in her grandmother’s home.
But another six years would go by before there would be a break in this terrible case. In 2002, the show received an anonymous tip that led investigators to Latasha Brown, who turned out to be one of the killers. Brown had been raising Le-Zhan as her own son, and the boy — who was now six years old — was living in Vallejo, California, just two miles away from where his birth mother had been murdered, according to SF Gate.
Ocianetta Williams, who was Brown’s cousin, was soon identified as Boyden’s second murderer. Authorities believe that Brown previously had a relationship with Young Lay and that it was jealousy that drove the two girls to murder Boyden and kidnap her son. Latasha Brown’s mother, meanwhile, was also arrested on child concealment charges.
Ultimately, Ocianetta Williams was sentenced to 13 years in prison for manslaughter and kidnapping charges, while Latasha Brown was sentenced to 37 years to life in prison for murder, according to Times-Herald. Brown’s mother Dolores served a year for her role in keeping Le-Zhan hidden.
As for Le-Zhan, he was reunited with his birth family after he was found in 2002, but Young Lay wouldn’t get to see him right away. Back in 1999, he had been sentenced to a 12-year prison term for his role in an armed robbery. But when he was released in 2010, he was reunited with his son.
After learning about 11 fascinating cases that Unsolved Mysteries helped solve, read about 25 unexplained mysteries from around the world. Then, take a look at the five greatest mysteries from human history.
