LITHONIA, Georgia – A mother from Georgia was sentenced this week for concealing the remains of her 6-year-old son, whose badly decomposed body was found in 1999. After 23 years, facial reconstruction finally identified the boy.
Teresa Ann Bailey Black, 46, was found guilty of concealing the death of her son, William DaShawn Hamilton. The charges of felony murder, cruelty to children, and aggravated assault resulted in her acquittal. Black was sentenced to 10 years in prison, the state’s maximum for that charge.
Judge Stacey Hydrick expressed her shock at Black’s actions, stating, “As a mother, I cannot fathom how you could leave your child in the woods to rot. There are so many other options, and it did not have to end this way. But your choices in leaving William’s body in the woods, never reporting him missing, and lying about his existence for over 20 years are not only appalling but also resulted in the complete destruction of any evidence that could have determined what happened. We’re left here still with no answers. You are the only one who knows what happened.”
Jurors found it to be an emotional and difficult decision, with one juror, Nathan Mittleman, expressing their desire for a different outcome. However, they had to adhere to the law.
DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston expressed her disappointment with the verdict, stating, “We still believe that she is responsible for William’s death.”
The remains of the then-unidentified boy were discovered in 1999, and he became known as “John Clifton Doe.” The case received renewed attention in 2019 when a lifelike facial reconstruction rendering was released, and in 2020, DNA linked Black to the remains.
Tests of muscle tissue from the remains showed the presence of diphenhydramine and acetaminophen in the boy’s system at the time of his death. Black was indicted in 2022, arrested near her home in Phoenix, Arizona, and extradited to Georgia.
The identification and sentencing of Black brings long-awaited closure to the case of the boy who remained nameless for over two decades.