DETROIT, MI – A Michigan woman faces extradition after she allegedly killed her young son and attempted to elude justice by fleeing to Georgia, authorities say.
The investigation began on Jan. 6 when Detroit police responded to a landlord’s alarming discovery at a residence in the 19700 block of Woodingham. There, they found a shallow grave in which the remains of a child were partially exposed.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy explained that officers discovered the bound hands and feet of the victim protruding from the ground. He was identified as 9-year-old Zamar King III.
Detectives allege Zamar’s mother, 41-year-old Brandee Katrice Pierce, smothered and strangled the boy on Oct. 24. A medical examiner confirmed these findings, marking the death as a homicide. In an alleged attempt to evade capture, Pierce reportedly left Michigan approximately two weeks after the incident, moving with her 3-year-old son to Georgia.
The case took a critical turn when Pierce was arrested on Dec. 20 in Brookhaven, a suburb of Atlanta, prompted by a concerned citizen’s call to police. The police found a 3-year-old boy alone in a car, cold in the 40-degree weather, yet unharmed.
The vehicle contained human waste and an air mattress, suggesting homelessness. Pierce allegedly told police she and her child were living out of the car, supported by income from plasma donations. She was arrested then for second-degree child cruelty, and her son was taken into foster care.
Though Pierce was temporarily released on bond, her run from the law ended on Jan. 10 when Georgia authorities arrested her for the murder of Zamar King III. She now faces charges of first-degree murder, felony murder, child abuse, evidence tampering, and concealment of a death. Pierce remains in Cobb County Jail, awaiting extradition to Michigan.
Prosecutor Worthy withheld any conjecture about a possible motive, characterizing the case as particularly shocking given her long tenure in law enforcement. “The horrors of this child abuse case defy that,” she said, underscoring the disturbing nature of the allegations.
The tragic death and subsequent developments have cast a chilling light on the circumstances leading up to Pierce’s arrest as authorities continue to untangle the harrowing details of this case.