ARIZONA NEWS

Forensic sketch of victim from Georgia cold case leads to woman’s arrest in Phoenix

Jul 13, 2022, 12:38 PM

Forensic sketch of William DaShawn Hamilton (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children) William DaShawn Hamilton (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children) Teresa Ann Bailey Black (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children)

DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — A woman has been charged with murder in the death of her 6-year-old son outside Atlanta more than 23 years ago, her arrest brought about by a forensic artist’s rendering of the child that led to a tip, authorities said Wednesday.

A DeKalb County grand jury returned an indictment on June 28 against Teresa Ann Bailey Black, District Attorney Sherry Boston said in a news release.

Black, 45, is charged with felony murder, cruelty to children, aggravated assault and concealing the death of another in the death of William DaShawn Hamilton. She was arrested in Phoenix on June 29 and is awaiting extradition to Georgia.

No attorney was listed for Black in online court records.

When the boy’s body was found in a wooded area on Feb. 26, 1999, authorities estimated he had been dead for three to six months. His identity was unknown and the manner and cause of his death was undetermined.

He remained unidentified for decades, despite the efforts of DeKalb County police and the county medical examiner’s office, as well as news coverage of the case. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children got involved in 2000, providing renderings of the boy and featuring the story. A forensic artist with the center produced a new rendering in 2019 that was featured by news outlets.

A person who knew Black and her son in 1998 saw a rendering in May 2020 and contacted the center, according to the news release. DeKalb County police and prosecutors then followed that lead.

DNA collected from Black earlier this year linked her to the remains, authorities said.

“For far too long, this precious little boy had no name and no story,” Boston said in the news release. “Through the tireless efforts of several individuals and organizations who were determined not to let this boy be forgotten, William has been identified, and justice will be served in his memory.”

Black and her son had been living in Charlotte, North Carolina, with a family member when she withdrew William from school in December 1998 and moved with him to Atlanta, the release says. She returned to Charlotte in late 1999 without the boy and told different stories about where he was.

Angeline Hartmann, spokesperson for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, said the case demonstrates “why we never give up hope.”

“For more than two decades, a woman in Charlotte who knew William and his mother followed her gut feeling that something wasn’t right and kept looking for him,” Hartmann said in the release. “We’re grateful she never stopped until she found a rendering of William online and gave investigators the missing piece to help solve this 23-year-old mystery.”

Boston is asking anyone who may have known Black or William at the time of the boy’s death to call her office.

We want to hear from you.

Have a story idea or tip? Pass it along to the KTAR News team here.

Arizona News

(Pexels Photo)...

Brandon Gray

Construction on The Shops at Lake Pleasant in Peoria underway

Construction on The Shops at Lake Pleasant in Peoria has started, the shopping center owner Vestar announced in a press release Friday. 

24 hours ago

(Tim Hacker/ Mesa Public Schools)...

KTAR.com

ADHS offering free drinking water lead screening for schools, child care facilities

The Arizona Department of Health Services is offering free drinking water lead screening opportunities for schools and child care facilities as part of a nationwide program.

24 hours ago

Arizona Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton (Arizona State Legislature and Pixabay Photos)...

Brandon Gray

Arizona Rep. Stahl Hamilton violated House rules by hiding bibles, Ethics Committee finds

The Arizona House Ethics Committee released its findings Friday on an ethics complaint filed against State Representative Stephanie Stahl Hamilton.  

24 hours ago

(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)...

Associated Press

Hobbs vetoes bill requiring schools to limit transgender students’ bathroom access

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has vetoed Republican-sponsored legislation to restrict use of public school restrooms by transgender students.

24 hours ago

(Pexels Photo)...

KTAR.com

Suspect arrested after allegedly fatally shooting Little Caesars coworker in Glendale

Police have arrested a suspect accused of fatally shooting a coworker in Glendale on Friday.

24 hours ago

Follow @suelenrivera...

SuElen Rivera

Tempe gets funding from Maricopa County to operate indoor cooling center

The city of Tempe received a grant from the state's most populous county to operate a new indoor cooling center in the East Valley.

24 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

SANDERSON FORD

Thank you to Al McCoy for 51 years as voice of the Phoenix Suns

Sanderson Ford wants to share its thanks to Al McCoy for the impact he made in the Valley for more than a half-decade.

...

Desert Institute for Spine Care

Spinal fusion surgery has come a long way, despite misconceptions

As Dr. Justin Field of the Desert Institute for Spine Care explained, “we've come a long way over the last couple of decades.”

(Photo: OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center)...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

Here’s what you need to know about OCD and where to find help

It's fair to say that most people know what obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders generally are, but there's a lot more information than meets the eye about a mental health diagnosis that affects about one in every 100 adults in the United States.

Forensic sketch of victim from Georgia cold case leads to woman’s arrest in Phoenix