A DeKalb County jury began deliberating Tuesday in the case of the death of a 6-year-old boy whose decomposed body was found in a wooded area near a Decatur cemetery more than 20 years before he was identified.
The boy’s mother, Teresa Ann Bailey Black, is accused of murdering her son and dumping his body in the woods between the start of December 1998 and the end of February 1999.
UPDATE: Mother found not guilty of son’s murder in DeKalb cold case
Black, 46, wiped away tears as she listened to her attorney’s closing arguments in the trial Tuesday morning. Public defender Ryan Bozarth asked the jurors to set aside their likely emotional response to the fact that Black had walked away from her son’s body and for decades lied about his death.
“You all can hate her for this,” Bozarth told the jurors. “You can hate her for these lies. That is not what Teresa Black is on trial for.”
Prosecutors claim Black gave her son, William DaShawn Hamilton, a toxic dose of Tylenol and Benadryl. They allege Black struck her child in the head and dumped his body among trees along Clifton Springs Road, shortly after moving to Atlanta from Charlotte, North Carolina.
“There were individuals who loved him, but there was one individual who failed him, and she failed him miserably,” prosecutor Tyshawn Jackson told the jurors Tuesday. “And it was the one individual who was supposed to love him unconditionally. Instead she discarded him as if he was trash.”
Credit: Henri Hollis
Credit: Henri Hollis
When William’s mostly skeletal remains were found by a gravedigger on Feb. 26, 1999, part of his skull was fractured. His leg tissue contained acetaminophen and diphenhydramine – commonly known as Tylenol and Benadryl.
The boy’s identity was revealed in 2020 when Black’s former friend from North Carolina, Ava McNeil, saw an artistic rendering of the unidentified child and recognized William, whom she had known while Black lived in Charlotte.
Black was indicted in 2022 and charged with two counts each of felony murder and cruelty to children as well as single counts of aggravated assault and concealing the death of another. She was living in Arizona, with her teenage daughter.
Bozarth said there’s no evidence that Black caused her son’s death. He said Black, who was 21 at the time, was homeless and chose to sleep in the wooded area with William because it was safe.
Black had given William over-the-counter medicine because he was sick, Bozarth said. He said Black woke to find William had died during the night and decided to leave his body in the woods, afraid she would be blamed for his death.
“This woman was alone and scared, and she messed up,” Bozarth said. “She never forgot him. She never stopped regretting that mistake. She left him and she hates herself for it. She loved him.”
William’s skull fracture can be attributed to scavenging animals, Bozarth said, noting the fact that the boy’s skull was found several feet away from the rest of his remains.
Bozarth said prosecutors worked to tarnish Black’s character during trial because they can’t prove that she is responsible for her son’s death.
“We as a society don’t like a mother not reporting her child’s death,” Bozarth said. “Without emotions, this case is nothing.”
Jackson said Black took William away from Charlotte, where relatives and friends were willing and able to look after him. She said Black gave William a toxic amount of Tylenol and Benadryl then failed to get him medical care while he suffered the effects.
Black worked as a stripper while in Atlanta, prosecutors said. They said William was a hindrance on Black in that line of work.
“This poor child didn’t make it long in Atlanta,” prosecutor Shannon E. Hodder told the jurors Tuesday. “What Ms. Black did is wrong. What Ms. Black did is criminal.”
Black chose not to testify at trial. The jury was shown video footage of her being interviewed by investigators in 2022, when she initially denied having a son and spending time in Atlanta.
Bozarth said Black’s lies had snowballed, but that doesn’t prove she killed William.
“They (prosecutors) need you to make a leap that she’s a cold-blooded murderer,” he told the jurors. “That’s ridiculous. This isn’t murder.”
Several of William’s relatives testified against Black, including his father, William Harris Hamilton. He said he last saw William around the time he started elementary school in Charlotte, before Black barred contact between them.
“He loved me to death,” Hamilton said of his son.
Hamilton said he didn’t know William had died until he was contacted several years ago by investigators. He said Black had sought child support for William after his death.
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