Woman who lived with Philadelphia foster mom accused of murder describes abuse in her home
Maria Campbell said she was 14 years old when she entered the foster system in October 2019. She was placed with Carprice Williams.
Williams is now charged with the murder of 10-year-old Malayshia Alford, a West Philadelphia girl in her care who was found dead in New Jersey earlier this month.
"Even to this day, when I see her face, it makes me go back in my head about everything she did. It's so vivid, like I'm back in that situation," Campbell said about Williams.
Campbell said initially things were fine, but that changed after she took a snack from the kitchen. She said Williams would force her to stand for hours, writing the same sentence over and over.
"She used to start locking me in the room. The bedroom door, whenever you lock it from the inside, she flipped it to the outside. And then she also put a little alarm system on there," Campbell said.
Williams also grabbed Campbell from a top bunk, causing her to fall to the floor.
Campbell said she escaped out of a bedroom window in May 2020.
While she said she reported the incidents, she didn't feel heard.
"No CUA worker, no DHS worker was really trying to do anything, just make it seem like I was just bad," Campbell said.
Campbell joined Ameer Barber at City Council on Thursday. The community activist and influencer has followed the Alford case closely and is outraged by what he's seen.
"How don't nobody care about these kids in Philadelphia? Whether they foster kids or whether they our kids, why don't we care more?" Barber said.
On Thursday, councilmembers passed three resolutions calling for hearings looking into DHS and the Community Umbrella Agencies, which help oversee the foster system. Lawmakers vowed major changes would come to the system.
"Some heads gotta roll. Some people gotta go," Councilmember Cindy Bass said.
"Malayshia is our Rosa Parks," Councilmember Anthony Phillips said. "What's going to end up happening, DHS is never going to be the same again."
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner also said Thursday his office is launching a separate investigation into what led to Malayshia's death, including foster care placement procedures.
Campbell is now married with a 1-year-old daughter, and she's set to graduate from college next year.
She said she's tried to put her time with Williams behind her, but she wants to see justice.
"If she goes on trial, I want to go testify against her," Campbell said. "I want her to see my face."