According to court documents, there was a years-long custody battle over 3-year-old Nola Dinkins, the girl who was reported missing on June 10 in Delaware and allegedly murdered by her mother in Maryland. 

Dinkins' mother, 31-year-old Darrian Randle, was charged with murder and child abuse resulting in death. Randle's boyfriend, 44-year-old Cedrick Britten, was charged with accessory to murder and failure to report a child death, according to court documents. 

Documents detail custody battle over Nola Dinkins 

The most recent document in the custody battle between Dinkins' mother and father was filed three months ago. 

The document, signed by both parents, is an agreement that Dinkins would spend four weeks of this summer with her father after he petitioned to keep her in their home state of Indiana. 

In June of 2023, Randle filed a notice of relocation to take Dinkins out of Indiana. 

That request was later withdrawn after pushback from Dinkins' father. The two eventually agreed to share custody of the girl, but the document names Randle as the designated custodial parent. 

Darrian Randle reports false abduction

Randle reported that Dinkins had been abducted at gunpoint on June 10 in New Castle County, Delaware, prompting an Amber Alert. 

She later admitted that the report was fake, according to a police report. 

The documents revealed Randle was living with Britten in Cecil County at the time. 

She admitted to beating Dinkins with a belt until she died. The police report alleges that Britten helped Randle dispose of the body by putting it into a suitcase. 

It is not clear at this point how long Randle and Dinkins had been living in Maryland or if Dinkins' father knew the two had left the state. 

However, neighbors said they never saw a woman or child at the home. 

• Cecil County