GA - Nicole Amari Hall, 8, w/ autism, missing from motel, Norcross, 21 Nov 2021 *ARRESTS*

  • #141
  • #142
Child found dead after being reported missing died of ‘battered child syndrome,’ warrants show

"Brittany Hall is accused of murder by causing “battered child syndrome” after prolonged abuse."
:(
This just makes me sick to my stomach. :(

Also noting:
  • Police believe the murder and concealing of the body occurred on Friday, Nov. 19. Brittany Hall waited until Sunday morning, two days later, to call 911 and report her daughter missing.
  • During the call, Hall blamed some of the problems on Amari’s behavior and the fact she was autistic.
  • Gwinnett County Police Spokesperson Cpl. Hideshi Valle told Thomas, “We don’t have a motive right now, I’m not sure if she was present but she did have knowledge of the abuse that happened on the 19th.”
  • Police say while they believe Brittany Hall knew what had happened to her daughter, they don’t believe she went along to hide the body in DeKalb County. She reportedly pointed police to a general area where the remains could be found.
  • Investigators say Celeste Owens has not spoken with them at all.
 
  • #143
DEC 8, 2021
Gwinnett police collect hundreds of items for siblings of murdered 8-year-old

5FE6MRACKBEAVHTKUMG34PQZD4.JPG


[...]

Police say the Crime Scene Unit collected donations among the employees and raised more than $3,500 in one week.

They used the money to buy toys, clothes, school supplies and more for Amari Hall’s brother and sister who are now in foster care.

[...]

DEC 9, 2021
Amari Hall | Police buy supplies for siblings of child found dead | 11alive.com
"Amari Hall’s death was heartbreaking for everyone at Gwinnett Police," the social media statement read.
 
  • #144
This is very hard to read. It is all so heartbreaking. I hadn't read the bolded part before. I hope that the two younger children are getting the love and support they need.

Bond Denied for Mother, Partner Charged With Killing 8-Year-Old Girl & Reporting Her Missing

A Georgia judge on Wednesday denied bond for a mother and her partner charged with killing and dumping 8-year-old Nicole Amari Hall, who had autism, last fall.

Brittany Hall, the girl’s biological mother, told police her partner, Celeste Owens, killed the 8-year-old, but prosecutors said there is evidence that both women were involved.

Brittany Hall, 27, reported her daughter missing on November 20, 2021, prompting an intense search for the girl. Her body was found three days later in a wooded area miles from her home, as CrimeOnline previously reported.

According to court documents, Owens, 29, hit the girl in the head several times on November 19, then “conceal[ed] the death of Amari Hall by placing her in trash bags and dumping her body” with Hall’s help.

Owens has also been charged with several child cruelty charges stemming from incidents involving other children in the family allegedly caught on security cameras. Hall is also accused of hitting and slapping the other children.

The other children are now in the custody of social services.

According to WAGA, investigators spoke with the Hall’s 5- and 6-year-old sons, who told them their mother and Owens hurt the 8-year-old.

“Officers spoke to (a child) who said Amari had gone to the ‘bad kids hospital,’” they said in court. “They tried to inquire a little bit further about what that meant and ultimately the statements that were made indicated, ‘She died last morning when my mommy went to get weed.’”


An autopsy showed that Amari Hall was malnourished and had several fractured ribs and internal bleeding. Her cause of death was determined to be battered child syndrome.
 
  • #145
This is very hard to read. It is all so heartbreaking. I hadn't read the bolded part before. I hope that the two younger children are getting the love and support they need.

Bond Denied for Mother, Partner Charged With Killing 8-Year-Old Girl & Reporting Her Missing

A Georgia judge on Wednesday denied bond for a mother and her partner charged with killing and dumping 8-year-old Nicole Amari Hall, who had autism, last fall.

Brittany Hall, the girl’s biological mother, told police her partner, Celeste Owens, killed the 8-year-old, but prosecutors said there is evidence that both women were involved.

Brittany Hall, 27, reported her daughter missing on November 20, 2021, prompting an intense search for the girl. Her body was found three days later in a wooded area miles from her home, as CrimeOnline previously reported.

According to court documents, Owens, 29, hit the girl in the head several times on November 19, then “conceal[ed] the death of Amari Hall by placing her in trash bags and dumping her body” with Hall’s help.

Owens has also been charged with several child cruelty charges stemming from incidents involving other children in the family allegedly caught on security cameras. Hall is also accused of hitting and slapping the other children.

The other children are now in the custody of social services.

According to WAGA, investigators spoke with the Hall’s 5- and 6-year-old sons, who told them their mother and Owens hurt the 8-year-old.

“Officers spoke to (a child) who said Amari had gone to the ‘bad kids hospital,’” they said in court. “They tried to inquire a little bit further about what that meant and ultimately the statements that were made indicated, ‘She died last morning when my mommy went to get weed.’”


An autopsy showed that Amari Hall was malnourished and had several fractured ribs and internal bleeding. Her cause of death was determined to be battered child syndrome.
:eek::(
I’m not even going to ‘like’ this post as I struggle with taking everything literally, and the like rubs me the wrong way, sometimes (even though I know what it means on here).

This is incredibly sad!! Just thinking of what Amari, and other ND children (and NT children alike), endure. These thoughts, the abuse that they sustain is just too painful for my heart. And these (children) cases bring tears to my eyes.
I was raised in a loving home, surrounded by my family with my grandparents. I went to live with them when I was 2. My parents said that my grandparents would be able to provide me with the care that I needed, that they would not be able to give me. I WISH more parents would be selfless to their children’s medical needs. Doing what is best for their child, and not themselves. Going as far as giving up custody or even adoption if that meant that their child would be raised in a home with loving and caring parents. IMHAutisticO.
 
  • #146
FEB 17, 2022
Amari Hall death | Gwinnett grand jury indicts mom, partner | 11alive.com
[...]

Brittany Hall and her partner Celeste Owens were indicted on 17 counts Wednesday, including malice murder, felony murder, several counts of cruelty to children in the first degree, concealing the death of another and two counts of false statements.

[...]

... Authorities said they also found information on a U-Haul reservation on the cellphone, which was the key clue in finding Amari's body in a wooded area in DeKalb County.

[...]
 
  • #147
So glad the legal wheels are turning on those two. Sounds like they're gonna be locked-up for a long time, as it should be.
In your post #142, @PommyMommy, this made me want to scream:
"During the call, Hall blamed some of the problems on Amari’s behavior and the fact she was autistic."

I guess she was explaining why she did what she did. And the treatment that little girl got probably got worse and worse because the little girl wouldn't stop the behavior. Damm. I wonder if the Death Penalty will be considered on this case.

Georgia still has the death penalty with the last one occurring in 2020 -- only one person was executed that year and there has been none since then.

Malice Murder and Felony Murder:
-------------------------------------
Punishment for Malice & Felony Murder
There are only three sentencing options for someone convicted of malice murder.

1. Life without parole – a person sentenced to life without parole will serve the remainder of their time on earth in the state penitentiary with no possibility of ever being released, assuming their conviction stands.

2. Life with parole – a person sentenced to life with parole is sentenced to serve the remainder of their life in prison as well. With this sentence, however, the person becomes eligible for parole after serving thirty years of their sentence.

3. The death penalty – Georgia sanctions killing its own citizens when they are convicted of committing malice murder.
----------------
Source:
Newnan Murder Lawyer | Malice | Felony | Second Degree
 
  • #148

December 13, 2024

A woman accused of killing her girlfriend’s 8-year-old girl was convicted of murder and 19 other charges Friday afternoon in Gwinnett County.

The jury took less than two hours to convict Celeste Owens of killing Nicole Amari Hall in November 2021. Judge Angela Duncan then sentenced Owens to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 235 years. Duncan called the crimes “the most heinous evil that I have ever seen” in her career.

*****


*****
Jurors found the partner of Amari's mother, Celeste Owens, guilty on all counts: malice murder, three counts of felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, 11 counts of cruelty to children, making a false statement and concealing the death of another.

*****

"This was a horrible way to treat these children and a tragedy that Amari Hall was killed as a result," Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said. "We pray that her sisters are able to heal from the abuse they endured and that their extended family can get a sense of closure."

Brittany Hall, the biological mother of all three children, awaits trial at a later date.

*****
Video includes sentencing.

 

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