Report: Son of missing N.C. teacher says boyfriend beat her

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Search warrants released in the case of a missing North Carolina teacher reveal new details coming from the woman's 3-year-old son, who said his mother was beaten by her boyfriend before her disappearance, reports CBS affiliate WBTV.

Bianca Richardson Tanner, 31, was reported missing by her boyfriend, Angelo Smith, on June 7. Last week, officers said the case was being investigated as a homicide.

Search warrants made public on Monday reveal that Charlotte-Mecklenburg detectives interviewed Smith, who said that he received a text message that caused an argument between the couple on the night Tanner went missing. Smith said Tannere left his Charlotte apartment intoxicated.

The missing mother has not been seen or heard from since.

According to the station, Tanner had recently moved to Charlotte with her young son for a teaching job. She had been a teacher at an elementary school in Guilford County, N.C., before the move.

The station reported detectives spoke with the 3-year-old about his mother's relationship with Smith. "Mommy got a spanking with the belt. Angelo kicked mommy's butt and made her cry," detectives say the child told them. "Angelo is mean to mommy and hurt mommy in the face."

WBTV says Smith voluntarily spoke with investigators after Tanner was reported missing, but when they asked for permission to search his phone, he quickly deleted some information before giving consent, the warrant states. It is not known what was erased.

Authorities discovered Smith has an outstanding warrant for domestic battery in Springdale, Ark., after his girlfriend at the time reported he "threw her onto the bed and covered her face, both mouth and nose, with his hand smothering her," according to the warrant.

The warrants in the current case state officers went back to Smith's apartment on June 10 to search his red Ford Mustang, the station reports. Tanner had left her car behind when she reportedly left the apartment, along with some personal belongings, prescription medicine and her son. Detectives seized a laptop, foam bedding, an iPhone, papers, two notebooks, a black zipper pouch, a bottle of rum, two torn photographs and the back of an earring from the Mustang and a nearby trash receptacle.

Police said there has been no activity in Tanner's bank account since she went missing. There has also been no cellphone or social media use by her in that time.

Smith has not been charged with any crime in relation to his girlfriend's disappearance. WBTV reports the investigation is ongoing.