Teresa Ann Black murder trial: Mother breaks down during interrogation, reveals son's death
Interrogation played for jury in cold case murder trial
An emotional day in court for a mother charged with murder in the death of her child more than two decades ago. Prosecutors say Teresa Black's son died after she gave him a fatal dose of cough medicine and concealed his death. She was arrested in 2022, following a break in the cold case.
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - Theresa Black wiped away tears in a DeKalb County courtroom Thursday as prosecutors played a video recording of her 2022 police interview.
Black is charged with murdering her son more than 20 years ago and concealing his death.
His body was discovered in a wooded area near a small cemetery on Clifton Springs Road in February 1999.
The child's identity remained a mystery for more than two decades.
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Then, in 2019, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released an image of a facial reconstruction of the victim.
A tipster in North Carolina came forward saying she recognized the child as her former neighbor and recalled Black returning to North Carolina without her son.
Black initially lied to investigators who traveled to Arizona to collect a DNA sample from her after an investigation led them to believe she was Hamilton's mother.
Black claimed she left her son with a woman at a homeless shelter in Atlanta in the late 90s because she was no longer able to care for him.
Black continued to insist she was telling the truth, even after the police told her William was dead and they didn't believe her story.
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Mom on trial for murder of 6-year-old son
Teresa Ann Black, the mother of a 6-year-old boy found murdered 25 years ago is expected to stand trial in DeKalb County. Jury selection got underway Tuesday morning in the William Hamilton murder trial. Authorities arrested Black in 2022 after authorities got a major break in the case.
Midway through the interview she broke down and told investigators the boy died in his sleep in the field where his body was found.
Black said they laid down to sleep and when she woke up the next morning, William didn't wake up. She left the child's body in the field and eventually returned to North Carolina.
Witnesses testified that she lied about the boy's whereabouts after his death.
Testimony resumes Friday.
If convicted, Black faces life in prison without parole.