Found Deceased GA - William Deshawn Hamilton, 6, 1999, unidentified for 23 years, his mother Teresa Black charged.

[Moonstrawbs]

Next witness up, the state calls Mr Black, Teresa's ex-husband
I am referring to this witness as Mr Black purely due to the fact of the audio quality when he was spelling his name out, I don't want to make any errors.

Mr Black says he met Teresa in 1992 and they were friends. In 2004 they began dating and in 2005 got married in North Carolina. They had a daughter together called Naya and moved to Alaska. The prosecution asks whether he was aware Teresa had another child, Mr Black says she admitted she had another child in 2004 when they started dating. He said they referred to him as Lil William. Mr Black says he never met him in person and that Teresa told him William was staying with family members in Atlanta. He believes she said it was his grandparents who were caring for him.

Georgia mother stands trial in cold case death of 6-year-old boy

Georgia woman Teresa Ann Black is facing murder charges for the 1999 death of her 6-year-old son, William DaShawn Hamilton.

lawandcrime.com

 

[Moonstrawbs]

Important note
Mr Black says that while they were in Alaska, Teresa allowed him to speak to William on the phone. To clarify this is some time past 2005. (Williams's remains were discovered in 1999). Mr Black says he asked Teresa to call William and when asked by the judge if either the person or Teresa stated it was William, Mr Black says Teresa said it was him so he was under the impression he was talking to William. The prosecution asked what the conversation was like, Mr Black said due to him and Teresa recently getting married they were speaking about that and a potential trip for William to come to Alaska. The prosecution ask whether William ever came to Alaska, Mr Black said "I never seen him".

Georgia mother stands trial in cold case death of 6-year-old boy

Georgia woman Teresa Ann Black is facing murder charges for the 1999 death of her 6-year-old son, William DaShawn Hamilton.

lawandcrime.com

 

[Moonstrawbs]

The prosecution ask whether Mr Black ever spoke to William again after this conversation, he said he did not and that any further information on William was relayed to him by Teresa. Mr Black says when he moved back to North Carolina he was by himself and continued to communicate with Teresa. During this time William was not brought into any further conversations. The prosecution asks whether he ever met William Hamilton Senior, William's father. Mr Black says yes and that he would often come to his house to try to speak to Teresa and find his son. Since Mr Black knew that Teresa's mother had passed away, he assumed William was with William's father's family and the fact William's father was asking Mr Black for his son's whereabouts was extremely strange to him.

Georgia mother stands trial in cold case death of 6-year-old boy

Georgia woman Teresa Ann Black is facing murder charges for the 1999 death of her 6-year-old son, William DaShawn Hamilton.

lawandcrime.com

 

[Moonstrawbs]

Next witness up, the state calls William Hamilton, William's father
To avoid confusion I'll refer to William Hamilton as William Sr.
William DeShawn Hamilton is the eldest child of William Sr. William Sr confirms he met Teresa through his sister Wanda and that they were friends. The prosecution asks William Sr how long he dated Teresa, he says on and off for five years and that they were together when William was born. William Sr says they split up when he was young but cannot recall his age.

William Sr says when William was first born the relationship with Teresa was fine and he was able to take William to spend time with his family. He says the family provided gifts and clothing for William. William Sr says he helped bathe William and take care of him. He confirms his mother, Margaret, was allowed to see William at this time too.

Georgia mother stands trial in cold case death of 6-year-old boy

Georgia woman Teresa Ann Black is facing murder charges for the 1999 death of her 6-year-old son, William DaShawn Hamilton.

lawandcrime.com

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

Thanks @Moonstrawbs for covering this so closely and relaying everything here. IMO it is really important.

WILLIAM DESHAWN HAMILTON, so glad HIS name (not hers) is in the title to this thread and I'm here to say it again. WILLIAM DESHAWN HAMILTON

 

[Moonstrawbs]

William Sr is then asked to confirm the identities of people in a photograph, himself, William and Teresa. William Sr says he believes William was about three months in the photograph. He states everything at this time was "good".

The prosecution asks about when Teresa ran away, William Sr said baby William was then in the care of Teresa's parents. He says he was able to visit him at their house and so was his family. The prosecution asks William Sr to describe what his relationship was like with William when he was in the care of Teresa's parents. He says it was really good. The prosecution asks about his family's relationship with William at this time and he says again it was really good.

The prosecution asks about when Teresa is back in the picture and takes care of William. William Sr says she was in another relationship at this point and she was making it difficult for him to see William. He would have to ask and ask to see him and was often not allowed.

He states how on one occasion Teresa pulled a gun on him. This comment leads to an objection by the defense and the judge removes the jury from the court. Both sides argue the relevance of this statement. The defense says there is no proof of this while the prosecution says it shows the lengths Teresa would go to isolate herself and her son from those wanting to care for William. The judge rules it is ADMISSABLE.

Georgia mother stands trial in cold case death of 6-year-old boy

Georgia woman Teresa Ann Black is facing murder charges for the 1999 death of her 6-year-old son, William DaShawn Hamilton.

lawandcrime.com

 

[Moonstrawbs]

The photograph of William Sr, Teresa and baby William.

Georgia mother stands trial in cold case death of 6-year-old boy

Georgia woman Teresa Ann Black is facing murder charges for the 1999 death of her 6-year-old son, William DaShawn Hamilton.

lawandcrime.com

 

[Moonstrawbs]

Thanks @Moonstrawbs for covering this so closely and relaying everything here. IMO it is really important.

WILLIAM DESHAWN HAMILTON, so glad HIS name (not hers) is in the title to this thread and I'm here to say it again. WILLIAM DESHAWN HAMILTON

Thank you so much for being here too! Unfortunately, I am quite behind but I am trying my best to post as much as possible before the verdict. Everything that led to this point should be documented so I agree it is so important.

WILLIAM DESHAWN HAMILTON. WILLIAM DESHAWN HAMILTON. WILLIAM DESHAWN HAMILTON.

 

[Moonstrawbs]

William Sr says William was enrolled in public school when he was five years old. After that William Sr says he was not allowed to see William after that. He states his mother, Margaret, was allowed to see William after this point but was stopped when she returned William home late.

Georgia mother stands trial in cold case death of 6-year-old boy

Georgia woman Teresa Ann Black is facing murder charges for the 1999 death of her 6-year-old son, William DaShawn Hamilton.

lawandcrime.com

 

[Moonstrawbs]

Important note
William Sr states he attended a boot camp from October 14th 1998 until March 2nd 1999. During this period he was unavailable. This seems to be the timeframe of when William died.

Georgia mother stands trial in cold case death of 6-year-old boy

Georgia woman Teresa Ann Black is facing murder charges for the 1999 death of her 6-year-old son, William DaShawn Hamilton.

lawandcrime.com

 

[Moonstrawbs]

The defense questions William Hamilton, William's father. Referred to as William Sr
The defense asks about this period and whether he was able to help Teresa with William then, he says no he was not able to. The defense mentions child support and William Sr says it was taken out of his paychecks. William Sr is claiming that Teresa received child support when William was not alive.

Georgia mother stands trial in cold case death of 6-year-old boy

Georgia woman Teresa Ann Black is facing murder charges for the 1999 death of her 6-year-old son, William DaShawn Hamilton.

lawandcrime.com

 

[Moonstrawbs]

The defense questions William Sr on past statements he has made about childsupport and the time he was paying it. They question the reliability of when, in an interview, William Sr referred to his age as being 25, not 30, for when Teresa claimed it. The defense are saying the difference in ages makes a massive difference in whether it was when William was alive or not. The defense and William Sr go back and forth over this until William Sr agrees he was 25 at the time. The defense state that even though Teresa claimed child support, it made no difference as William Sr was unemployed at the time.

Georgia mother stands trial in cold case death of 6-year-old boy

Georgia woman Teresa Ann Black is facing murder charges for the 1999 death of her 6-year-old son, William DaShawn Hamilton.

lawandcrime.com

 

[Moonstrawbs]

The defense ask William Sr how Teresa was with William and William Sr says he isn't sure as he was not allowed to see William. William Sr appears frustrated at the defense. He clarifies that he only saw William when he was young and only then he could see how she interacted with him. The defense ask William Sr if he is familiar with family court and whether he ever filed for custody of William, he says no.

Georgia mother stands trial in cold case death of 6-year-old boy

Georgia woman Teresa Ann Black is facing murder charges for the 1999 death of her 6-year-old son, William DaShawn Hamilton.

lawandcrime.com

 

[Moonstrawbs]

Redirect - the state now questions William Sr
The prosecution asks about the child support and when he obtained a job. William Sr says once he was employed money was taken from his paycheck. It is still unclear as to when this was. The prosecution asks whether William Sr's family would have been able to help Teresa whilst he was gone during that time from October to March, he says yes. No further questions.

Georgia mother stands trial in cold case death of 6-year-old boy

Georgia woman Teresa Ann Black is facing murder charges for the 1999 death of her 6-year-old son, William DaShawn Hamilton.

lawandcrime.com

 

[Moonstrawbs]

Next witness up, the state calls Dr Gerald Thomas Gowitt, Chief medical examiner
The prosecution ask questions on Dr Gowitt's career and job roles, from working in general pathology to becoming Chief medical examiner. He says he's conducted over 14000 autopsies.

The prosecution ask whether Dr Gowitt performed an autopsy on skeletal remains on February 27th 1999, he says yes. Photographs of William's remains are shown whilst Dr Gowitt talks through evidence of how it is known that the remains are of a younger person/child due to the placement/fusion of the bones in the skull.

Dr Gowitt speaks about the process of laying the bones out on a table in the order/form you would expect them to be in. He states there are not organs but there was muscle tissue left in his lower legs. The prosecution asks what age did they determine of the deceased, he said between five and seven years old.

Dr Gowitt says a bone from the eye socket to the span of the cheek was broken.

Georgia mother stands trial in cold case death of 6-year-old boy

Georgia woman Teresa Ann Black is facing murder charges for the 1999 death of her 6-year-old son, William DaShawn Hamilton.

lawandcrime.com

 

[Ladyotm]

Next witness up, the state calls Dr Gerald Thomas Gowitt, cheif
The prosecution ask questions on Dr Gowitt's career and job roles, from working in general pathology to becoming Chief medical examiner. He says he's conducted over 14000 autopsies.

The prosecution ask whether Dr Gowitt performed an autopsy on skeletal remains on February 27th 1999, he says yes. Photographs of William's remains are shown whilst Dr Gowitt talks through evidence of how it is known that the remains are of a younger person/child due to the placement/fusion of the bones in the skull.

Dr Gowitt speaks about the process of laying the bones out on a table in the order/form you would expect them to be in. He states there are not organs but there was muscle tissue left in his lower legs. The prosecution asks what age did they determine of the deceased, he said between five and seven years old.

Dr Gowitt says a bone from the eye socket to the span of the cheek was broken.

Georgia mother stands trial in cold case death of 6-year-old boy

Georgia woman Teresa Ann Black is facing murder charges for the 1999 death of her 6-year-old son, William DaShawn Hamilton.

lawandcrime.com

Thank you so much for doing this. I missed some testimony and reading over your notes, I see missed things even when I watched the person's testimony.

 

[Moonstrawbs]

Ugh, I don't even know what to say about this. I have been concerned that due to how much time has past anything around murder would be hard to prove. But as someone who has followed the prosecution's case closely, cruelty was proven in my opinion. It has been evident that she put William in a very neglectful situation. She isolated him from his family and those who cared about him/would be able to care for him, she took him from his home (which the rent was in advance for four months when they left), she put him in the position of not having his own bed and potentially sleeping outside and unsafe. To me regardless of whether she intended to harm him, all of the stated above from her bad decisions and lifestyle contributed to his death. The fact she lived for so long after this, married, had another child, makes me feel sick. Whether she murdered him or not, she essentially was fine leaving her dead child outside to the elements, without trying to seek any help and concealed it for many many years. Ultimately I'm very sad about this result, It seems like William has been ignored again, one final time.

Teresa Black trial: Mother found not guilty of son's murder

The DeKalb County jury found Teresa Black not guilty of murdering her son, but guilty of concealing his death over 20 years ago.

www.fox5atlanta.com

 

[Moonstrawbs]

Thank you so much for doing this. I missed some testimony and reading over your notes, I see missed things even when I watched the person's testimony.

You're very welcome.
I'm still about a day and a half behind on the trial but of course the verdict is now out. I'm wondering whether to continue documenting the remaining testimonies or to leave it?

 

[Ladyotm]

You're very welcome.
I'm still about a day and a half behind on the trial but of course the verdict is now out. I'm wondering whether to continue documenting the remaining testimonies or to leave it?

If you're up to it, I would say continue documenting. It can help us better understand what went wrong with this case.

 

[Chelly]

Verdict reached in Teresa Black murder trial decades after son's death

A DeKalb County jury found the mother not guilty on all counts, except for one, which was concealing the death of another.

www.11alive.com

• Felony murder
  • Count 1 - Not Guilty
  • Count 2 - Not Guilty
• Cruelty to children
  • Count 1 - Not Guilty
  • Count 2 - Not Guilty
• Aggravated Assault - Not Guilty
• Concealing the death of another - Guilty

The mother's sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.