Baby’s body found days after disappearance in Clayton County, official says
It was an arduous, multiday search for a missing 6-month-old that left a family and community in anguish, wondering what could have happened.
From the beginning, Clayton County police investigators said they knew something wasn’t right about a father’s story that his young son had been kidnapped by robbers. On Tuesday night, they found what they feared all along: baby Nnakai Pratt’s lifeless body.
Since Sunday morning, authorities had worked tirelessly to locate the toddler. Medical examiner’s office director Brian Byars did not say exactly where the baby was found, but confirmed the body was located “in the vicinity” of the apartment complex where his father, Antonio Pearce, reported the kidnapping.
A more detailed report should be available later this week, Byars told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday.
Pearce, 38, was arrested Monday on unrelated charges, and a new charge of making false statements was added Tuesday, according to jail records. During a first appearance hearing Wednesday morning, a judge explained the charge is tied to the baby’s disappearance.
“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,” the judge told Pearce.
Pearce was denied bond during the hearing. His next court date will be Nov. 10.
The other charges Pearce faces are possession of marijuana, driving on a suspended or revoked license and a child restraint violation, according to police and jail records.
Police have not said if Pearce will face additional charges. They also declined to issue their own confirmation that Nnakai was found, which delayed the announcement.
“The Clayton County Police Department has not provided any statement concerning the information being reported,” a department spokesperson said in a statement. “There will be no statement given at this time, as this remains an active and ongoing investigation.”
Officials have not said when they believe Nnakai died, but officers were called to the apartment complex at 100 Valley Hill Road just outside Riverdale shortly after 8 a.m. Sunday.
There, Pearce reported the robbery and kidnapping at gunpoint, according to police. He told officers that unknown suspects stole his valuables and took his son from his car seat carrier, then left the scene, police said.
On Monday afternoon, police issued a statement saying they considered Pearce a suspect. As of Wednesday, he has yet to face charges in connection with the baby’s death, but the department has not retracted its statement.
Bloodhound tracking dogs from the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, as well as cadaver dogs, were used in the search. Multiple search warrants were also served.
No other information has been released about the investigation, including the status of Nnakai’s twin. Police have only said the twin is in the care of their mother, who is not believed to be involved in Nnakai’s death.
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