Curtis was visiting the family of his father, Curtis Williams, for the Thanksgiving holidays in Newark, New Jersey on November 18, 1989. His mother, Lashawn McCoy, had custody of him and they resided in South Carolina at the time. Curtis was last seen walking slightly behind his father, his father's girlfriend, Sabetha Moore, and the two baby daughters Moore and Williams had together. The family was window-shopping in downtown Newark. Williams said he reached behind to take his son's hand as the group crossed an intersection, but Curtis had vanished. The child has never been seen again. Williams admitted to killing son and stated he buried the child's corpse in a shallow grave under the New Jersey Turnpike in Jersey City, New Jersey. Prosecutors stated they did not have enough evidence to prove a murder charge.