EAST POINT, Ga. - Loved ones gathered Tuesday to celebrate the life of an East Point boy who was found dead at a local garbage facility.
A funeral service for 2-year-old J'Asiah Mitchell was held at First Baptist Church Road in Carrollton.
East Point police discovered the body of a child on Aug. 23 at the East Point Transfer Station, a garbage facility, on South Martin Street. Investigators said the body had been out in the elements for several days.
Eight days later, the Fulton County medical examiner identified the remains as that of Mitchell.
Officers and members of the community had been searching for Mitchell since the night of Aug. 16 when his father told police the boy was kidnapped at the Aspen Woods Apartments on Flat Shoals Road. Artavious North, 23, claimed a group of armed robbers cut him off as he was leaving the apartment complex and took the child.
North was initially taken to custody on charges of lying to police. They said they had reason to believe the toddler had not been kidnapped. At the time of his arrest, investigators told FOX 5's Deidra Dukes he was considered a person of interest in the boy's disappearance.
After identifying the body, authorities charged North with malice murder, concealing the death of another, and cruelty to children.
Artavious North
The family is asking for donations of new small basketballs and teddy bears, which can be delivered to the Willie A. Watkins Funeral Home at 602 Newnan Road in Carrollton.