ATLANTA — A grand jury has indicted two women accused of killing 8-year-old Amari Hall and trying to cover up her death.
Brittany Hall and her partner Celeste Owens were indicted on 17 counts Wednesday, including malice murder, felony murder, several counts of cruelty to children in the first degree, concealing the death of another and two counts of false statements.
Hall, the child's mother, was on probation for felony theft and assault when authorities arrested her after finding the young girl's body.
Both Hall and Owens reported that the child went missing from a Homewood Suites in Gwinnett County in November 2021.
While searching for the child, investigators said they found deleted videos from a Nest cam on Owen’s cell phone – depicting both women hitting and kicking the children, leading them to arrest both women for abusing Amari and Hall's other children. Authorities said they also found information on a U-Haul reservation on the cellphone, which was the key clue in finding Amari's body in a wooded area in DeKalb County.
Amari's official cause of death was listed as battered child syndrome, according to Deputy Chief District Attorney Sabrina Nizam. Warrants for the women also show a history of child abuse and said Amari was a child with autism.
The two were arrested and charges were upgraded in the days following. During their first court appearance, a judge denied the two bond.
The grand jury chose to indict both women on the same charges. It has turned over its findings to the Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office.
At last check, Hall's other children were in the custody of DFACS, but the agency said it was allowing them to stay with Hall's mother.