ATLANTA — A verdict was reached in the case where a metro Atlanta mother was accused in the 1999 death of her 6-year-old son and concealing his death for decades.
Teresa Black learned her fate on Wednesday morning as a DeKalb County jury returned the following verdict for each charge she was facing:
- Felony murder
- Count 1 - Not Guilty
- Count 2 - Not Guilty
- Cruelty to children
- Count 1 - Not Guilty
- Count 2 - Not Guilty
- Aggravated Assault - Not Guilty
- Concealing the death of another - Guilty
The jury began deliberating on Tuesday, where they deliberated for two days, finally reaching their decision.
1/12/24 UPDATE: Teresa Black learns her sentence
According to a previous indictment record, Black was accused of giving her son too much cold medicine, which allegedly led to his death. The record also accused the mother of striking him in the head with an unknown object and failing to seek medical treatment for him.
William Hamilton's remains were discovered in 1999, but it wasn't until 2022 that detectives finally identified the boy and arrested his mom.
The verdict came just days after gripping testimony came from the father of William Hamilton and Black's best friend, who described the young boy's character. A video was also released of her police interview when authorities first questioned her about his death.
The boy's father, William Hamilton, alleged Teresa even received child support after William had already died.
“William was already gone, and I didn’t know that,” Hamilton said of the child support that was taken out of his paycheck after William’s death.
Black's best friend, Ava McNeil, testified on Tuesday where she claimed that Black did not regularly bathe William and seemed detached and standoffish toward her son before moving with him to Atlanta in 1998.
DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston addressed news reporters just an hour after the verdict was reached.
"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. We are glad though that Teresa Black will be held accountable," said Boston.
The mother was sentenced on Friday, according to the DA Boston.