A 41-year-old woman is currently in custody, awaiting extradition to Michigan after authorities say she murdered her 9-year-old son, buried him in a shallow grave, and later fled the state with her surviving child. The case came to light on January 6 when a landlord in Detroit made a horrifying discovery in the backyard of a home located in the 19700 block of Woodingham.
Law enforcement officers arrived at the scene, where they were shown a grave with a human foot protruding from the ground. Further investigation revealed that the deceased child’s hands and feet had been bound. Authorities identified the boy as 9-year-old Zamar King III and determined that he had been killed on October 24. The medical examiner concluded that the child had died due to smothering and compression to the neck.
Roughly two weeks after the murder, the suspect, Brandee Katrice Pierce, fled Michigan and relocated to Georgia. She remained there until her arrest on unrelated charges on December 20.
The arrest in Georgia followed a report from a concerned citizen in Brookhaven, a suburb of Atlanta, who noticed a young child left alone in a vehicle. Responding officers discovered a 3-year-old boy in the car, cold to the touch due to the frigid weather conditions, though otherwise unharmed. The backseat contained human feces and a deflated air mattress, suggesting that the child had been living in the vehicle. Pierce later admitted to officers that she and the child had been living in the car while she attempted to earn money by donating plasma. She was taken into custody for second-degree child cruelty, and the boy was placed in foster care.
After posting bond for the child cruelty charge, Pierce was re-arrested on January 10 in connection with the murder case. She is now facing charges including first-degree murder, felony murder, first-degree child abuse, tampering with evidence, and concealing the death of an individual. She is currently held at the Cobb County Jail, awaiting transfer back to Michigan.
The details of this case have left prosecutors and law enforcement officials stunned. The Wayne County Prosecutor described the crime as one of the most callous cases of child abuse encountered in their career. The brutal nature of the allegations and the circumstances surrounding the young boy’s death have shocked the community.
Authorities have not disclosed a potential motive for the killing, but the tragic case has raised serious concerns about the welfare of children in similar situations. The loss of 9-year-old Zamar King III, along with the suffering endured by his younger sibling, has left many struggling to comprehend the depths of cruelty involved.
As the legal process moves forward, Pierce will face prosecution in Michigan, where she will answer for the severe charges brought against her. The community and those involved in the case hope that justice will be served for the innocent child whose life was tragically cut short.
