A babysitter in Upstate New York bashed her five-year-old cousin in the head and strangled him to death before throwing his body over a guardrail into a ditch and covering it with snow on Thursday, police have revealed. Tiffany Vanalstyne, 19, then allegedly called police to made up a story about little Kenneth White being kidnapped by two masked men in an effort to cover her tracks - sending authorities on a desperate search across Albany County, New York to find the boy. 'I'm angry that we had a five-year-old killed and basically thrown away like a piece of trash. It's sinful and it's sad,' Sheriff Craig Apple, who was visibly shaken by the horrific murder, said today.
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Kenneth White, 5, was found dead in a ditch 40 yards from the trailer where he and his two sisters lived in Knox, New York, Thursday night
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His cousin Tiffany Vanalstyne, 19, who was left to babysit him and his siblings, has been charged with his murder
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She allegedly strangled the boy and bashed him in the head until he died
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Vanalstyne then threw his body over a guardrail into a ditch near the mobile home and covered it snow, police say
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She then called police and said he had been kidnapped by two masked men in an attempt to cover up for the murder, according to authorities
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After an Amber Alert and a massive search, police determined that story to be a hoax
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Kenneth and his sisters had been living with his aunt, Vanalstyne's mother, after both his parents lost custody
The search for Kenneth and the mysterious black truck continued, but detectives began to investigate @placeholder, as well.