ATLANTA, GEORGIA: A Georgia father who reportedly staged his son's abduction last month is expected to be slapped with a murder charge after the toddler's body was discovered at a trash facility, authorities say.
The East Point Police Department obtained warrants for Artavious North, 23, on September 1, on charges of murder, concealing the death of another and cruelty to children in connection with the death of 2-year-old J’Asiah Mitchell.
According to Associated Press, the body of the victim who was initially unidentified, was recovered by authorities on August 23, at a solid waste facility in East Point, an Atlanta suburb. Authorities declared the child's name late Thursday.
"East Point Detectives were notified by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation that the child found at the East Point Transfer Station on August 23, has been positively identified as J’Asiah Mitchell," East Point police said in a statement. The cause of death has not yet been revealed by the officers.
What did the victim's father tell the police?
North filed a missing person's report about his son on August 16 and informed the police that he was kidnapped during an armed robbery, according to multiple reports.
However, he was later charged with making false statements and falsely reporting a crime after detectives were unable to find any evidence concerning his claims.
"There's either more to the story, or the whole story is just a lie, because even if it was a drug deal gone bad, or whatever the case may be, they would hurt him and not the baby," J'Asiah's grandmother told Fox News at that time. "I think the dad need to tell us what happened," she added. As of now, it is not known if the accused has entered a plea deal or not.
J’Asiah’s mother's emotional post
J’Asiah’s mother, Asia Mitchell, who was not in a relationship with North at the time of the alleged killing, expressed her anger on Facebook. “You took my world from me. Now God will make yours upside down,” she wrote in one post. “Evil,” she wrote in another, sharing a news update about North’s murder charges.
Following the toddler's disappearance, authorities searched areas near North's apartment complex and drained a small lake nearby. East Point police Chief Shawn Buchanan and Sgt. Ricki Michaud said during a press conference last Wednesday, "We’re happy to see it come to some closure. But everybody working this case was hoping … the child was alive."
