DECATUR, Ga. – Police have finally identified a 6-year-old boy who was murdered and left in Decatur, Georgia 23 years ago.
Dekalb County District Attorney’s Office announced the identification of William DaShawn Hamilton on Wednesday (June 13). The boy was found dead in 1999.
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The boy’s mother, 45-year-old Teresa Ann Bailey Black, has been charged with two counts of felony murder, two counts of cruelty to children, aggravated assault and concealing the death of another.
The boy’s identity was discovered after a tip was called into the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children from someone who knew Black and William in 1998. They had been searching for the boy since he disappeared.
The tipster, known as Ava, knew the boy and his mother when they lived in Charlotte, North Carolina. She said she often took care of William and described him as a fun, witty, adventurous and intelligent. She said he loved to dance.
“He liked to crack jokes,” said Ava. “He did like to draw a lot, color, mainly read books. He didn’t want you to read to him . . . he wanted to read to you.”
Investigators said Black left North Carolina with her son but returned without him. Investigators said she had different stories about where he was.
Investigators used DNA to confirm William’s identity.
“This case is a perfect example of why we never give up hope,” said Angeline Hartmann, Director of Communications at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. “For more than two decades, a woman in Charlotte followed her gut feeling that something wasn’t right. She made phone calls, scoured the internet and talked to anybody who would listen. We’re grateful she never stopped until she found that rendering of William online and gave investigators the missing piece to help solve this 23-year-old mystery. A huge thank you to the Dekalb County District Attorney’s Office, the Dekalb County Medical Examiner’s Office and Dekalb County Police for their hard work that brought us here today.”
Black was taken into custody near her home in Phoenix, Arizona, and will be extradited to Georgia.
Investigators want to hear from anyone who knew Black or her son between 1998 and 1999 in the Metro Atlanta area.
If you have any information, call their cold case tip line at: 404-371-2444.
Click here to read more about this case from the NCMEC.
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