Police in East Point said there is a “high probability” that a child’s body found Wednesday afternoon is a 2-year-old boy who has been missing for a week.
The discovery was made at the East Point Transfer Station, a solid waste facility on R.N. Martin Street in south Fulton County, according to an East Point police spokesperson. The body has been turned over to the GBI.
“We have not confirmed the identity of the child J’Asiah Mitchell,” the spokesperson said in a news release. “However, there is a high probability based on the circumstances surrounding this case.”
On Thursday, East Point police Chief Shawn Buchanan said they will consider bringing charges against the child’s father, 23-year-old Artavious North, should DNA samples confirm the boy’s identity.
Investigators will be meeting with prosecutors Friday to discuss potential charges, Buchanan told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, adding that there are no other suspects or persons of interest at this time.
Mitchell was reported missing last Wednesday, when North told the boy’s mother that their son had been kidnapped during a robbery in the Panthersville area of DeKalb County, police said. After investigators could not find any evidence of an abduction like the one North reported, he was arrested on charges of making false statements and false report of a crime.
North remains in the DeKalb jail without bond, according to online records.
Investigators partnered with multiple federal agencies to obtain search warrants that led to the discovery of useful digital information, East Point police Sgt. Ricki Michaud said. That allowed police to hone in on the transfer station as a possible location for the body.
Speaking about the case at a news conference Wednesday, Michaud said, “We’re happy to see it come to some closure. But everybody working this case was hoping ...”
As Michaud became emotional and trailed off, Buchanan completed his thought.
“Hoping the child was alive,” the chief said.
Michaud said they expect to charge a suspect, once identified, with murder and concealing the death of another.
“This has been a very traumatic case. Most of us have children, so a lot of detectives are emotional right now,” Buchanan said. “But I want to make it clear: We are looking at the father as a suspect and looking to charge him with the highest charges possible to make sure he never gets out of jail.”
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