DOTHAN, Ala. — The Hall County couple accused of killing their 6-month-old son and stuffing him in a freezer are in custody after a shootout with police in Florida, according to authorities. And it was all thanks to a tip.
It all began after police found an infant in the freezer of an Alabama hotel. Authorities say the infant had been dead for five or six days.
“That infant has no way to defend itself, it’s completely dependent upon its parents,” said Dothan, Alabama Police Lt. Lynn Watkins. “And in this case, the infant was failed by its parents.”
But by the time authorities found the infant, they said the parents, 28-year-old Carlton Mathis and 26-year-old Amanda Oakes, were long gone.
The case spanned three states in the southeast, starting in Hall County, Georgia. Authorities had been tracking Mathis for an unrelated offense, but they say he left when he found out in January deputies were looking for him in connection with a parole warrant from a Texaco Station robbery, according to Hall County Sheriff Lt. Scott Wade.
Then, investigators got a tip from someone in Mathis' own community that pointed them to Dothan. Once there, police followed a new lead to Bronson, Florida. It culminated in a SWAT standoff during which police said Mathis pulled a gun before being shot four times by SWAT officers.
He and Oakes were then taken into custody for the murder of their son Charles, police said.
“The cooperation within the three states led to his timely arrest and unfortunately the discovery of the child,” Wade said.
Meanwhile, he praised the actions of the tipster who helped lead authorities to the couple.
“It’s vital. It’s the bread and butter of law enforcement," Wade said. "If it wasn’t for telling on other people, we would just be spinning our wheels."
Mathis and Oakes are being held on related charges until they’re extradited to Alabama to face murder charges in the death of their son.
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