Mom charged with murder after girl's body found in vacant DeKalb County apartment

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - Police have arrested and charged the mother of a 7-year-old girl whose body was found in a vacant DeKalb County apartment over the weekend.

Officials say they began their investigation Sunday after a neighbor called police when he smelled a foul odor coming from an apartment at the Hidden Valley Apartment Complex on Misty Waters Drive.

The man told police he went inside the unit to investigate and discovered the body of a little girl in a closet.

According to investigators, the body's condition showed the child had been dead for some time. They have since identified her as 7-years-old Alivia Hobbs-Jordan.

Friday, officials announced that they had identified the girl's mother as Alondra Hobbs.

Officers arrested Hobbs on Thursday and charged her with felony murder and cruelty in the second degree.

Family members are in shock.

"I woke up this morning and it’s been on my mind all day. I don’t know. I haven’t processed it. I’m still not believing it?" Latrience Robinson, who is Alondra Hobbs' aunt.

She says it still feels like a dream, or more like a nightmare.

"My sister was saying, ‘Latriece, you know that was Alivia they found dead in DeKalb,’ I really couldn’t believe that," Robinson said.  "When they said on the news they found the baby with her hair combed and dressed nicely. I was like wow that’s my niece because she did always comb her hair and neatly."

They say the precious little girl had been dead for some time and body was decaying. 

"We had no clue. The baby was supposed to be with the dad’s mom in Albany. That’s what she kept telling us, but she was here staying with my sister. She was staying in the back with a guy," Robinson said. 

Robinson says Alondra has two other small kids and Alivia suffered from autism.

"The question is why. Why didn’t you call or pick up the phone and ask for help if you feel like it was overwhelming," Robinson said.

DeKalb County Police have not released the official cause of death for the little girl. 

Family members say it just doesn’t make sense. 

"I just didn’t see that in her. We all have issues, but I didn’t think she would do something to her kids," Robinson said. 

The body of a young girl was found in a DeKalb County apartment complex along Misty Waters Drive off Candler Road on June 25, 2023. (FOX 5)

Shocked neighbors recalled that a woman lived in the upstairs unit but say they never saw a child.

"The child never went out of the apartment. Didn't go to school. There was nobody to say, ‘Where was this kid?’ And that's sad. It's a sad statement about the world we live in," Catherine Costello said.

Police have not released the girl's cause of death and say they are continuing their investigation.

Hobbs is currently at a local hospital under officer supervision. She will be taken into custody after she is discharged.

If you have any information that could help police, call the DeKalb County Police Department.

A GoFundMe has been set up by the girl's grandmother to help with funeral expenses. FOX 5 does not endorse or vet any GoFundMe accounts. Donate at your own risk.