Blaise Barnett’s relatives arrested for murder of man during hunt for missing one-year-old
Two of Blaise Barnett’s relatives have been arrested for the murder of a man shot dead during the family’s hunt for the missing one-year-old.
Delarius Miller and Santana Miller have been charged with the murder of 60-year-old Aziz Hassan who died at the Brannon Hill Condominiums in Clarkston, Georgia, on Wednesday night.
Police said the Millers, who are said to be cousins of Blaise’s father Xavier Barnett, were part of a group of family members going door-to-door at the apartment complex in search of the toddler.
Blaise was abducted early on Wednesday morning when his parents’ SUV was stolen from outside their home while their son was asleep inside.
Hours later, the car was found abandoned outside the Brannon Hill Condominiums but the little boy was nowhere to be seen.
Blaise was found safe the following day - 36 hours after he disappeared - inside a car on a woman’s driveway around a mile from his home, after his mother had issued a desperate appeal to whoever had him to “bring him home”.
No suspects have been named in connection to his abduction.
It has now emerged that, in the hours after Blaise was taken, two of his family members allegedly shot and killed a man at the apartments where the family car was found.
Police told WSBTV that 38-year-old Delarius Miller and 34-year-old Santana Miller had gone to the complex on Wednesday night.
There, they allegedly shot Mr Hassan during an altercation.
The suspects told police that Mr Hassan had opened fire on them first.
The 60-year-old died at the scene, police said.
There is no evidence linking Mr Hassan to the disappearance of the one-year-old boy.
Mr Miller was arrested on Wednesday and charged with Mr Hassan’s murder, while Ms Miller was arrested and charged with malice murder on Sunday.
Residents of the apartment complex told WSBTV of their fear as they heard the group of vigilantes banging on the doors of apartments in the middle of the night.
One resident described how the group was shouting loudly as they searched for the missing boy.
“That night I didn’t sleep, because they were knocking on the door, loud shouting,” said Fowsia Abdullah.
“They were all over. People knocking on the people’s doors and asking, ‘Can we look around and check if you have the son?’”
Another resident named Abdullah said he couldn’t understand why the suspects had shot Mr Hassan who he said had moved to the US for a better life for his family.
Authorities also released the panicked 911 call made by Blaise’s father when he noticed his son had been taken last week.
“Somebody just stole my car and my son is in there. … I just took my nephew in the house and put my bags in the house. I came outside and everything gone,” Mr Barnett is heard telling the dispatcher in the call.
A separate 911 call was also released of a man named James Dent who called authorities to say he had found the vehicle matching the description of the Barnett’s missing SUV.
“The SUV yall looking for with the baby in it, I just left from Clarkston and I was talking to someone in the store, something told me to stop and look in up here in Brandy Hill,” he said.
“There’s an SUV parked all the way in the back here and there’s somebody sitting out here. I asked this white lady if she’d seen anyone walking by. But I see the SUV up here.”
Blaise was taken to hospital for a medical evaluation after he was found before being returned to his parents safe and well.
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