DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. —
In the second day of witness testimony in a DeKalb County mother's murder trial, key evidence was played: her interview with police.
Teresa Black is accused of killing her son and leaving his body in a wooded area. The remains were discovered in 1999, but it wasn't until 2022 that detectives finally identified the boy as William Dashawn Hamilton and arrested his mom.
Among the witnesses called Thursday was a forensic toxicologist who worked with Hamilton's remains, explaining the condition of his skeleton after it was left in the woods and whether the injuries to his body happened before or after his death.
Watch the forensic toxicologist's testimony. This story continues below the video.
The highlight of Thursday’s proceedings was the state playing an hour-long interview from 2022 when DeKalb County Police Department first questioned Black about her son's disappearance after she was taken into custody in Phoenix.
Watch the full interview played in court. This story continues below the video.
The video shows Black getting her Miranda Rights read to her. After investigators asked about her history of where she had lived, she left out Georgia altogether. She admitted she had a teenage daughter, but at first, didn't mention her son.
After police tell her they're from DeKalb County, she finally admits she lived there. She then acknowledges her son shortly after. During the interview, she told police times were tough.
"I was in a shelter for a while and they wouldn't let me stay with him. I wasn't able to take care of him so she took care of him,” Black can be heard saying in the video, explaining that she left her child with a woman at a homeless shelter.
Police then tell the mother they found her son's bones in a wooded area off Clifton Road.
"I'm not judging you, I'm not. I need you to be very specific with me if something happened and you got scared. I need you to tell me because I know where William is and you do too,” said the investigator in the video.
To which Black replied: “You do? I know I did the wrong thing I shouldn't have left him.”
After questioning, Black told police her son seemed malnourished and sick but denied giving him too much cold medicine, which is what investigators believe killed him.
Court recessed for the day after hearing from a few more witnesses. The trial will continue Friday.
Black is charged with two counts of felony murder, two counts of cruelty to children, aggravated assault, and concealing the death of another in connection with the 1999 death of her son.
Watch the full stream of Day 2 of the trial: