Boy, 3, Found Slain in Dumpster : Reportedly Vanished From Spring Valley Supermarket

Sheriff’s Department homicide investigators are asking the public to help them uncover leads in the slaying of a 3-year-old boy, whose body was found in a trash dumpster in a Spring Valley shopping center Thursday night.

“We’re inviting anybody from the public who may have any kind of information regarding this case to give us a call,” said Lt. Bill Baxter, with the Sheriff’s homicide unit.

Luke Wayne Mackey, 3, was found with what appeared to be numerous stab wounds in a trash dumpster behind Builders Emporium, a home improvement store located in the shopping center in the 500 block of Sweetwater Road, Baxter said.

The homicide unit seeks information from anybody who may have seen the child in the vicinity of the store or the adjacent Vons supermarket between 9 and 10 p.m., Baxter said.

Detectives said the boy had sandy-brown hair and a braided pony tail, and wore a blue shirt with brown shorts.

Dorothy Mackey, 28, the child’s mother, told authorities that her boyfriend, Roddy G. Proctor, 40, had taken her son to go shopping at Vons supermarket around 9 p.m. While there, the young boy apparently strayed from Proctor, Baxter said.

“Proctor told us he took the boy and went to the supermarket to pick up some groceries,” Baxter said. “While he was taking items off the shelf in the dairy section, he said he took his eyes off the child for just a moment. When Proctor turned around, the boy was gone.”

Proctor told authorities he searched the aisles of the supermarket and then went outside to look for the boy.

When he was unable to find the boy, Proctor told police, he returned to the Spring Valley apartment he shares with Mackey and told her of her son’s disappearance.

Proctor and Mackey returned to the supermarket, and when their attempt to find the boy failed, Mackey notified authorities about 10 p.m., Baxter said.

A few minutes later, the Sheriff’s Department received a call from Timothy Wilson, 22, who said he had discovered the body of a young boy in a trash dumpster at the shopping center, Baxter said.

Deputies and paramedics dispatched to the scene found the fully-clothed boy suffering from what appeared to be numerous stab wounds and rushed him to Grossmont Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

An autopsy has been scheduled to determine the exact cause of death, Baxter said.

Sheriff’s homicide investigators, who have interviewed the boy’s mother, Proctor and other family members, have been unable to determine a motive or find suspects in connection with the slaying.

Wilson, who informed authorities of the location of the body, was arrested on suspicion of public drunkenness, Baxter said. He emphasized that Wilson’s arrest was unrelated to the boy’s death.

“Wilson was under the influence of alcohol when we were talking with him at the scene (where the boy was found),” Baxter said. “He became increasingly belligerent, and it became necessary for us to arrest him.” Investigators later discovered that Wilson had several outstanding traffic warrants, Baxter added.

Sheriff’s homicide investigators ask that anyone with information on the slaying call 236-2944 or 565-5200.