A Georgia father who reported that his 6-month-old son was kidnapped during an armed robbery has now been charged with the boy’s murder.
In addition to murder, Antonio Pearce has been charged with cruelty to children, aggravated assault and battery, tampering with evidence, concealment of death, unlawful disposal of a body, false statements, and false reporting, according to WXIA.
Pearce, 38, initially reported Nnakai Pratt missing on Sunday, saying he was taken at gunpoint, but Clayton County investigators soon found information that contradicted his claims, as CrimeOnline reported. They arrested him on unrelated charges, and then, on Tuesday, they found the child’s body in in a trash bag in the woods near where Pearce had reported the robbery, WANF said. It appeared the boy had a head injury, police said.
Reporters initially said the boy’s body was found in a dumpster.
A warrant for Pearce’s arrest says he “continuously contradicted his statements, witness accounts contradicted his statements, and he later admitted to concealing and falsifying a material fact,” WXIA reported.
Earlier this week, police confirmed that Nnakai was a twin and that his twin sister “was never missing and remains in the care of the mother.” But on Wednesday, they said the little girl had been taken into custody by the Department of Family and Children Services and that “the mother’s role in this incident is still under investigation.”
WANF reported that a woman of the same name as Nnakai’s mother was booked into the Clayton County jail on Wednesday night, but officials would not confirm if she was the mother.
According to jail records, Necolette Pratt is charged with obstructing an officer, false statements, and party to the commission of a crime. She has not yet appeared in court.
Pearce is being held without bond and is set to appear in court on Thursday on the murder charge.
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[Featured image: Nnakai Pratt and Antonio Pearce/Clayton County Police Department]
