Woman charged in two-decades-old death of 6-year-old son after remains finally identified
A young boy whose remains were found near a church cemetery in Georgia more than 23 years ago has been identified, thanks in part to an artist’s rendering, a tip from a former acquaintance, and a facial reconstruction.
He was murdered, authorities in DeKalb County said, and his mother did it.
A grand jury last month indicted Teresa Ann Bailey Black, 45, on two counts of felony murder, two counts of cruelty to children, aggravated assault and concealing the death of another in connection with the death of her 6-year-old son, William DaShawn Hamilton, DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston said Thursday.
Black was taken into custody in Phoenix on June 29 and will be extradited, Boston said.
“For far too long, this precious little boy had no name and no story,” Boston said in a statement. “Through the tireless efforts of several individuals and organizations who were determined not to let this boy be forgotten, William has been identified, and justice will be served in his memory.”
William’s body was discovered in a wooded area of Decatur on Feb. 26, 1999, the statement said, “significantly decomposed.” Back then forensics revealed a boy between 5 and 7, who had been dead for three to six months. The boy could not be identified.
In 2000 the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children became involved and provided renderings of the boy, along with amplifying his story through web and social media channels. A facial reconstruction completed by a forensic artist in 2019 renewed public interest, DeKalb County said, and that generated a 2020 call from someone who had known Black and her son and contacted police.
Police collected DNA from Black, whose surname at the time had been Bailey. She’d been living in Charlotte, N.C., with her son “and another family member,” police said, but took him out of school and moved to Atlanta. In late 1999 she returned to Charlotte alone, with varying stories about where he was.
Black is scheduled for arraignment on Aug. 23, reported CNN. It was not clear whether she had an attorney.
“This case is a perfect example of why we never give up hope,” Angeline Hartmann of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children said in the DeKalb statement. “For more than two decades, a woman in Charlotte who knew William and his mother followed her gut feeling that something wasn’t right and kept looking for him. We’re grateful she never stopped until she found a rendering of William online and gave investigators the missing piece to help solve this 23-year-old mystery.”
