Georgia man charged with murder in the death of his 6-month old son after kidnap claim

JONESBORO, Ga. (AP) — A suburban Atlanta man has been charged with murder in the death of his six-month-old son after initially telling police the baby was kidnapped during an armed robbery.

Antonio Pearce told police on Sunday that his son, Nnakai Pratt, was snatched by robbers. Clayton County Police said Pearce told them two armed men dressed in black stole $6,500 in cash and 3 pounds (1.36 kilograms) of marijuana from an apartment he was using as a stash house in Riverdale, about 11 miles (18 kilometers) south of Atlanta. He told them the men then snatched his son, who was in a car seat, and fled.

Searchers found Nnakai’s body in nearby woods on Tuesday evening after two days of looking. Police had already arrested Pearce on Sunday, charging him with marijuana possession and traffic offenses. They later added a false statement charge because he kept changing his story.

Pearce was charged Wednesday with Nnakai’s murder, court records show. He was also charged with concealing a death, tampering with evidence, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, cruelty to a child and falsely reporting a crime.

No lawyer is listed for Pearce in court records.

A judge denied him bail during a bond hearing Wednesday on the false statements charge.

“You did provide contradictory statements in an investigation of a missing child, and when witness accounts verified your contradictory statements, you admitted to concealing and falsifying material facts,” Clayton County Magistrate Judge Keisha Hill Wright told Pearce on Wednesday.

The infant was a twin and his surviving sister has been placed in the custody of child welfare authorities, with police saying they were investigating if the mother had any role in the boy’s death.

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An earlier version of this story said the dead child has a twin brother. His twin is a sister.