UPDATE: Mother Charged with 2nd Degree Murder in Tyler Dasher Death

Shelby Dasher of Affton is being charged with second degree murder in the death of her toddler, whose body was found yesterday.

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch announced the charges at a Wednesday afternoon press conference. Dasher, 20, is being held on a $500,000 cash only bond.

McCulloch said that Dasher told investigators she repeatedly struck her 13-month-old son Tyler Dasher in the head and body when he wouldn't stay quiet and go back to sleep.

The child died, and police say Dasher dumped his body in some bushes along Des Peres Parkway, about 1 mile from her home at 7730 Clevedon Street.

The medical examiner has ruled that the child's cause of death was blunt force trauma, McCulloch said.

At 11:30 a.m. Tuesday Dasher . There were no signs of fored entry.

Suspecting abduction, St. Louis County police began a frantic search of the neighborhood and issued an SARAA alert, but a few hours later, passersby walking their dog found the child's body at the edge of nearby New St. Marcus Cemetary.

The next morning police took Dasher into custody in connection with her son's murder.

McCulloch confirmed reports that Dasher had been "out" late Monday night, and that alcohol may have been involved.

Dasher is being charged with second degree murder, rather than first degree, because investigators did not believe the killing was premeditated.

"It's the difference between, in layman’s terms, hot-blooded and cold-blooded," McCulloch said.

"Raising children can be very frustrating, but there are a myriad of ways to handle that. This isn’t one of them," he added when asked about what social programs might have prevented Tyler's death.

According to the prosecuter there are no known instances of previous abuse in the family. Dasher lived with her son and her mother, who was in the home that night. Tyler's father, Joseph Ellington, lives elsewhere in South St. Louis County.

During their search for the child early Tuesday afternoon, police investigated a witness's report of a man in a black hoodie seen carrying what looked like a blue blanket bundle in the area of Rogers Middle School. St. Louis County Police Chief Tim Fitch said police now believe this still unconfirmed report is completely unrelated to the Dasher murder. McCulloch said Rogers was "a substantial distance from all the activity involved in this case.”

McCulloch said they have no reason to believe anyone else was involved in the killing, and that police are not looking for any other suspects.

The case will go before a grand jury sometime in the next six to eight weeks and McCulloch said the investigation would continue in the mean time.

“There is still an awful lot left to be done…the investigation isn’t over,” he said at the press conference.

“This literally could go on for several months as far the evidence goes," Fitch agreed.

KSDK is reporting that friends and family will hold a vigil and moment of silence in Tyler's honor at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the River Des Peres Greenway at Olde English Road and River Des Peres in Affton. Mourners have been leaving stuffed animals and notes in Tyler's memory at a tree near the crime scene.

This is the second time this year that domestic tragedy has struck the Affton area. In May a family of four was , an apparent murder-suicide. One of the four, Emily Dreimen, .