Angela M. Dufrene
Angela, circa 2014; Age-progression to age 7 (circa 2021); Marjorie Dufrene
- Missing Since 12/01/2014
- Missing From Miami, Florida
- Classification Endangered Missing
- Sex Female
- Race Black
- Date of Birth 04/25/2014 (10)
- Age 7 months old
- Height and Weight 2'0, 30 pounds
- Distinguishing Characteristics African-American female. Black hair, brown eyes.
Details of Disappearance
Angela lived with her twin brother and her two-year-old sister, their mother, Marjorie Dufrene, and Marjorie's boyfriend in Miami, Florida. Marjorie's two oldest children, aged four and ten, lived with their father, Marjorie's estranged husband Lewis Dufrene, but visited their mother on weekends. Although Lewis is the twins' legal father because he was married to their mother when they were born, he may not be their biological father; Marjorie claims the twins' father is a former boyfriend named Henry Mathieu.
A photo of Marjorie is posted with this case summary. The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) was supposed to be monitoring the family; Marjorie had a long history with them, dating back to 2011, when she hit her son in the face with a belt so badly he needed surgery to his eye.
In around October or November 2014, Marjorie stopped bringing Angela to daycare and would only bring her twin brother; she said Angela was with her grandmother. Lewis had visits with the twins and their older sibling at a DCF office through late 2014, but starting in 2015, Marjorie would only bring Angela's twin to the social services office for visitation, not Angela herself.
The last verified sighting of Angela was in December 2014, when a doctor saw her while administering vaccinations. During this time period DCF workers repeatedly met with Marjorie and her family and investigated reports of physical abuse regarding the twins' older siblings, but they never actually saw Angela. In July 2015, a sheriff's investigator found "no safety concerns for the children" in the home.
Angela's disappearance was not reported until July 2016. That summer there were reports that one of Angela's sisters had been sexually abused by Marjorie's boyfriend, that the apartment was filthy and had no food, and that Marjorie's older children were forced to sit outside in the hallway as a punishment when they visited on weekends. While investigating, a DCF worker spoke to the family's landlord. The landlord said he had no knowledge of Angela's existence and that as far as he knew, Marjorie had four children, not five.
When the investigator spoke to Marjorie, Marjorie said she had only four children. When confronted with Angela's birth certificate, however, she changed her story and said Angela was with her birth father, a man she identified as Henry Mathieu. However, she gave the investigator an incorrect phone number for Mathieu, and pretended to call him as she and the investigator drove around the North Miami-Dade area looking for Mathieu's address.
When Marjorie and the investigator returned to the DCF office, Marjorie changed her story and said Angela was with Mathieu's mother. Mathieu's mother, when asked about this, said this story was a lie. Marjorie's sister and live-in boyfriend both stated they had never met Angela, and Angela's eleven-year-old brother told investigators that his baby sister had been missing since at least the summer of 2015 and he had stopped asking about her.
Then Marjorie claimed that in March 2016, she had dropped Angela during an argument with her boyfriend and that she had died and her boyfriend had disposed of the body, something the boyfriend denied. Marjorie then told yet another story: she said the baby had been unable to stop crying, then "fell" out of her mother's arms. Marjorie then put Angela in a car seat, and the baby started coughing up blood and died, so her mother wrapped her body in a black garbage bag and put it in a McDonald's restaurant dumpster.
Later in July 2016, during a court appearance, the judge asked Marjorie where Angela was. Marjorie's attorney was present and attempted to invoke her right against self-incrimination, but Marjorie stated, "She is dead. She is no longer with us."
Investigators believe Angela is dead, but no one has been charged in her presumed death due to lack of evidence, including lack of a body and lack of witnesses to any crime. Her case remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
- Miami Police Department 305-603-6640
Updated 2 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated May 29. 2021; middle initial added, age-progression updated.