The Missing
Hamza Ali
Upper Darby, Pennsylvania
7 month old Hamza Ali was reported missing from Upper Darby Pennsylvania on August 6, 2013. He, his mother Zainab Gaal, and Zainab’s boyfriend Ummad Rushdi were visiting Ummad’s parents in the 6600 block of Chestnut Street in Upper Darby for the weekend, when Zainab called police saying that Ummad took Hamza and vanished. Hamza is a black male with brown hair and brown eyes, who was only around 25 inches tall and just about 12 pounds.
Zainab admitted to authorities that her boyfriend was abusive and violent, especially towards her and her son. Often calling Hamza “idiot baby” and “negative energy baby.” She claims he forced her into an illegal marriage ceremony and kept her captive, never allowing her to leave the house alone. The house was located in the 900 block of Castle Pond Drive in York, Pennsylvania. Ummad, Zainab, and Hamza lived there, along with Ummad’s brother and several other relatives.
During the investigation, Ummad’s mother told police that her son once told her he wanted to “get rid” of Hamza by taking him to his grandmother in Maine. He said “And if not, I will throw him off a bridge before I get there.”
Ummad was located at his home at 2:30 a.m. August 7, and was arrested and charged with kidnapping amongst other things. Unfortunately, Hamza was not with him. He told officers the baby was “with God.”
Police reported to the media that they believed Hamza to be deceased, and launched a search for his body in York and Lancaster PA. It was brought to light that after Ummad had kidnapped the baby, he got his vehicle stuck in the mud near the intersection of Rt 30 and Rt 441 in Columbia, PA. He asked two people for a ride, and when he approached them he had a copy of the Quran in one hand and a plastic bag in the other.
Investigators believe Ummad buried Hamza near that spot but then moved the body later.
Strangely, Ummad ended up going to church with the two witnesses but he left abruptly during a prayer session and started sobbing loudly in the hallway.
In late August, Ummad was additionally charged with baby Hamza’s murder, concealment of a child’s whereabouts, tampering with evidence, and abuse of a corpse.
Ummad allegedly told his brother that he killed Hamza by shaking him because he wouldn’t stop crying. He stated he wrapped the baby in a sheet and buried him in York. He said they would never be able to find the body.
In September 2017, Ummad Rushdi was declared incompetent to stand trial. Two different mental health experts testified that he either had schizophrenia or a schizotypal personality disorder. He was involuntarily committed to Norristown State Hospital where he remains.
Baby Hamza’s body has never been located.
If you have any further information, please contact the Upper Darby Township Police Department at 610-734-7693.
Sources:
https://uncovered.com/cases/hamza-ali-upper-darby-pa
https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/case/MP29605
https://www.missingkids.org/poster/NCMC/1251042/1
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/man-deemed-incompetent-for-trial-in-kidnapping-murder-of-girlfriends-baby/2802553/ https://6abc.com/archive/9220380/
The Lost & The Taken 
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