MISSING 15-YEAR-OLD’S REMAINS FOUND IN LANDFILL WEEKS AFTER MAN WAS CHARGED WITH HIS MURDER

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA — A heartbreaking search for a missing Louisiana teenager has come to a devastating end after authorities recovered human remains from a landfill more than two months after he disappeared.

The remains were identified through DNA testing as 15-year-old Ja’Derrius Minnieweather, according to the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office.

Ja’Derrius was reported missing on June 5, 2026. His disappearance quickly became a homicide investigation, and on June 20, police arrested 51-year-old Maurice Parms and charged him with first-degree murder in connection with the teenager’s death.

A SEARCH THROUGH THOUSANDS OF TONS OF TRASH

Investigators eventually developed evidence indicating that Ja’Derrius’ remains may have been placed in a trash container and transported to the East Baton Rouge Parish North Landfill in Zachary, Louisiana.

The search began July 13.

What followed was an extraordinary recovery operation.

Authorities narrowed the search from a landfill covering roughly 400 acres to a much smaller area. Investigators also used video from the back of a garbage truck that helped establish where the suspected remains had been dumped.

Search crews ultimately excavated approximately 4,265 cubic yards of landfill material and processed 3,590 tons of waste while working through extreme summer heat.

For weeks, investigators, federal agents and other agencies continued searching.

Then came the discovery the family had been waiting for — but desperately hoped would never come.

THE DNA IDENTIFICATION

Human remains were recovered from the landfill and turned over to the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office.

Using DNA comparison with assistance from the LSU FACES Laboratory and the Louisiana State Police Crime Laboratory, authorities confirmed that the remains belonged to Ja’Derrius.

The identification finally answered the family’s most painful question: where their missing son was.

But it also confirmed the devastating reality that investigators had feared since June.

WHAT POLICE SAY HAPPENED

According to an arrest warrant, investigators believe Ja’Derrius was beaten during a confrontation involving Parms and a 16-year-old girl who was a longtime friend of the teenager.

Authorities allege that Parms subsequently concealed the teenager’s body and disposed of evidence before the remains were transported to the landfill. These allegations remain part of the criminal case against Parms.

Parms was arrested in June and remains in custody.

Investigators later filed additional charges against him, including second-degree rape, trafficking of children for sexual purposes and indecent behavior with juveniles, stemming from a separate alleged incident involving the 16-year-old girl.

“I WOULD HAVE LOVED FOR JA’DERRIUS TO BE IN ENGLISH CLASS”

The recovery came just as students were preparing to return to school.

Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sid Edwards acknowledged the heartbreaking timing, saying he would have preferred to see Ja’Derrius returning to class rather than having authorities recover his remains.

Instead, investigators’ recovery effort has given his family something they had been denied for weeks: the opportunity to bring him home.

Ja’Derrius’ mother, Aquarius Minnieweather, described the loss of her son as an unimaginable tragedy.

She has also started a fundraiser to help cover funeral expenses and support the family as they grieve.

A SEARCH THAT WOULD NOT STOP

The recovery operation was complicated by the sheer scale of the landfill.

Crews had to work through intense heat while wearing protective equipment and carefully processing enormous quantities of waste.

The FBI, Baton Rouge Police Department and other agencies participated in the effort.

For investigators, recovering Ja’Derrius was about more than locating evidence.

It was about returning a missing teenager to his family.

Now, the focus shifts toward the criminal case and the unanswered questions surrounding his final hours.

Ja’Derrius was only 15.

His family spent weeks hoping he would somehow come home.

Instead, investigators found him in a place no parent could ever imagine searching for their child.

The search is over. But the fight for justice is only beginning.

Authorities have charged Maurice Parms in connection with Ja’Derrius Minnieweather’s death. The allegations against him remain subject to the criminal justice process, and a charge is not a conviction.