DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A young boy's body was found in the woods near a small church cemetery in DeKalb County back in 1999. For more than 20 years, authorities didn't know his name.
Finally, an artist’s age progression portrait helped investigators learn the boy's identity and led to an arrest in the case.
The story of the boy and the trial of Teresa Black will be revisited in the A&E show "Killer Cases," set to premiere on June 5.
Here's a look back at the case:
The boy in the woods
On Feb. 26, 1999, the body of the young boy was discovered in a wooded area near a small church cemetery on Clifton Springs Road in south DeKalb County, Georgia.
The body had been carefully placed there, investigators said, and it appeared it had been there for several months.
“The condition of the body precludes a facial identification, fingerprints… things we usually use to identify someone,” DeKalb County’s assistant chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Gerald Gowitt, said in 1999.
Investigators weren't able to determine a cause of death, but according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), there were signs that the boy had been cared for.
"There wasn't a case where there was an obvious case of malnutrition, neglect, poorly cared for -- anything like that," said DeKalb County Medical Examiner Director Patrick Bailey in a video released by NCMEC.
Bailey said the boy's clothing was "above the average means for most income levels."
"The most disturbing thing is, we... haven't connected an actual reported missing or death to this child," Bailey said.
In 1999, investigators built a clay reconstruction of the boy’s face, hoping someone would come forward.
But leads were few, and the case grew cold.
Weeks after his body was found, Clifton United Methodist Church held a memorial service for the unknown boy.
“I cried. It was just so sad to think someone would give birth to a child and not miss it,” a woman told 11Alive outside the church in 1999.
New technology leads to new clues
In 2019, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released images of how the boy might have looked before his death.
PHOTOS: Do you recognize this boy?
Three years later, authorities announced a break in the case.
Boy in the woods identified, mom charged with murder
On July 13, 2022, authorities announced they'd finally solved the mystery of the identity of the boy found in the woods more than 23 years earlier.
DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced that with the help of a tip made by someone who saw the artist's rendering, they were finally able to begin testing and investigating the identity of the boy.
The boy was 6-year-old William DaShawn Hamilton, Boston said.
The boy's mother, Teresa Ann Bailey Black, was arrested in Phoenix, Boston said. She was charged with two counts of felony murder, two counts of cruelty to children, aggravated assault, and concealing the death of another in connection.
Black never reported her son missing, nor did anyone else, resulting in the inability to connect the remains found in 1999 to William.
"For too long, this precious little boy had no name and no story," Boston said in a statement. "Through the tireless efforts of several individuals and organizations who were determined not to let this boy be forgotten, William has been identified, and justice will be served in his memory."
Angeline Hartmann, a true crime writer and podcaster who was involved in the case, said at the press conference announcing the arrest that a woman named Eva recognized the artist's rendering of William when she finally saw it. Eva had known William and had long been working to figure out what happened to him.
Hartmann said that woman "always felt that something wasn't right." She shared a statement from Eva, which said William "was like a shining star," who liked to draw and read books - not normal children's books, but books like the dictionary and encyclopedia.
"William was going to grow up to be somebody," Eva's statement said. "I so wanted him to be alive. I wanted William to know that I never stopped looking for him. I loved William."
How did William DeShawn Hamilton die?
The indictment for the mother provided new clues into the boy's death. It alleged that Black caused her son's death by giving him "a substance or substances containing Diphenhydramine and Acetaminophen" and by striking him in the head with an unknown object.
It also alleged she failed to seek medical treatment for him and concealed his death.
The trial of Teresa Black
Teresa Black's trial began in December 2023.
During the trial, jurors were shown video of DeKalb County Police questioning Black after she'd been taken into custody in Phoenix in 2022.
In the hour-long video, police told Black 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,” the investigator said in the video.
Black replied: “You do? I know I did the wrong thing. I shouldn't have left him.”
Black told police her son seemed malnourished and sick but denied giving him too much cold medicine, which is what investigators believe killed him.
Black's best friend, Ava McNeil, testified that Black did not regularly bathe William and seemed detached and standoffish toward her son before moving with him to Atlanta in 1998.
"He was fun, he was smart. He was a four-year-old who could read the encyclopedia. He liked trucks," said McNeil.
Also during the trial, William's father and Teresa’s ex-husband, Laquese Black, both testified, saying they made several attempts to see or meet William before finding out about his fate.
Black testified he never met Teresa's son while they dated or while they were married. He said she claimed William was living with relatives in Atlanta and recalled a fake phone call that Teresa staged to make him believe he was talking to her son.
“She made a phone call, and I spoke to some gentleman on the phone supposed to be him,” he said while on the stand.
And while the defense painted the picture of Black being a single mother with no one to help her raise William, the prosecution countered that argument. The boy’s paternal aunt, Wanda Hamilton, testified that the family was willing to help.
“Babysit, clothes, money, whatever she needed,” she said during testimony.
The defense called in a forensic pathologist who claimed that William could have died of natural causes and believed that the fracture in William's skull was caused by animals after his death.
The prosecution presented closing arguments that painted a picture of a mother who played a role in her son's death, but the defense presented Black as a struggling mother who did everything she could to protect and help her child until an "accidental" tragedy happened.
"She's afraid people will think she killed him and people will think she hurt him, but she gets stuck. This 21-year-old makes a terrible decision and starts to snowball," Public Defender and Black's attorney Ryan Bozarth said. "You all can hate her for her lies, but that's not what Teresa Black is on trial for."
Teresa Black did not take the stand.
11Alive covered the trial extensively (Watch on YouTube). Read daily accounts:
OPENING STATEMENTS: Opening statements, witness testimony made in cold case murder trial of mother in her 6-year-old's 1999 death
KEY EVIDENCE: She's accused of murder in the 1999 death of her son. Why her police interview may be key evidence in the case
KEY TESTIMONY: Father testifies his son 'was already gone, and I didn’t know' during trial of mom charged with boy's 1999 murder
TESTIMONY CONCLUDES: Jury hears final testimonies in Teresa Black murder trial, closing arguments expected soon
VERDICT DELIVERED: Verdict reached in Teresa Black murder trial decades after son's death
Verdict reached in Teresa Black trial
After two days of deliberations, the jury reached a decision on January 10, 2024.
The jury found the mother not guilty on all counts, except for one: concealing the death of another.
"The case was cold for 23 years. The evidence was limited at best as far as physical evidence to support the charges that was brought upon Teresa Black by the state," said Samuel Logan, one of the 12 jurors who helped make the decision.
Jonathan Mittleman, another juror in the case, described the energy in the room as the jury sat through making their tough decision.
"It was tough. Every day was gut-wrenching and long. We all spent a lot of time thinking about things. You're mentally drained at the end of the day and you want to see the right outcome," the juror added. "We all wanted things to go differently, but we had to go with what the law was."
District Attorney Sherry reacted to the verdict.
"While we respect the jury's verdict, I would be lying if I didn't say I wasn't disappointed. We still believe that she is responsible for William's death," Boston said. "We are glad though that Teresa Black will be held accountable."
Teresa Black sentenced
On January 12, 2024, Teresa Black learned her sentence.
Before the judge handed down the sentence, multiple witnesses who testified earlier in the trial gave victim statements, including William's father.
The boy's father, William Hamilton, took the stand “feeling bad” he didn’t get a chance to spend time with his son. He pleaded with the judge to give Black the maximum sentence.
“I never got to play with or do none of these things like what a father is supposed to do with a child,” Hamilton said. “She told me he was living down here all these years. I’m thinking like he hates my guts or something because he would never call me or nothing.”
Ava McNeil, the family friend whose tip led to reopening a decades-old cold case, spoke about the boy’s character painting a picture of a young
“William Deshawn Hamilton was a special little boy who smiled and lit up a room. He was such a lover boy, a gregarious child. He was smart, with a mature intellect. He was also respectful,” McNeil said. “William had so much life ahead of him and he had the potential of becoming anything he wanted to be.”
McNeil choked back tears as she said she thought of the future that was robbed from the young boy. She added that William loved to read and sing Michael Jackson. She believed the young boy could have become a doctor, scientist or lawyer.
“He had so much love to give. It’s a huge loss to the world his life was cut short,” she added.
DeKalb County Judge Stacey Hydrick sentenced Teresa Black to the maximum sentence for the concealing a death charge: 10 years in prison with credit for the 549 days she has already served.
"I cannot fathom how you could leave your child in the woods to rot," the judge said moments before handing down Black's sentence.
Teresa Black today
Teresa Black is currently serving her 10-year sentence at the Emanuel Women's Facility in Swainsboro, Georgia, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. Her maximum release date is July 12, 2032 -- 10 years to the day that she was arrested.
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