Georgia baby found dead in dumpster after being reported missing as father charged with murder
Nnakai Pratt, 6 months, was reported missing after vanishing on Sunday from a Riverdale, Georgia, apartment complex, according to police.
Authorities in Georgia are investigating the death of a 6-month-old baby boy who they say was found in a dumpster days after he was reported missing.
Nnakai Pratt, 6 months, was reported missing after vanishing on Sunday from a Riverdale, Georgia, apartment complex, according to police. His body was discovered on Tuesday inside a dumpster near the complex, according to the Clayton County Medical Examiner's Office.
"This is a nightmare. Make you want to hold your kids tighter at night," Meshia Sikes, who lives in the neighborhood, told WANF. "We are going to feel it for a while. I'm not sure we will be able to forget this."
READ MORE: Taylor Swift addresses 'actual amnesia' her fans experienced after the Eras TourREAD MORE: Donald Trump suffers brutal blow as CNN host points out his contradictions live on airAccording to police, Pratt's father, Antonio Pearce, claimed he was robbed at gunpoint and that the alleged perpetrators took the baby and escaped "in an unknown direction."
But when pressed by detectives about his story, several "inconsistencies" emerged along with "physical evidence that points to the existence of foul play," according to police.
Further investigation led the police to consider Pearce a suspect in Nnakai's disappearance. Pearce was taken into custody on Sunday on unrelated charges of driving with a suspended license and a child restraint violation before being officially charged with murder in connection with the baby's death, according to police.
Residents at the apartment complex told local media they were stunned after learning of Nnakai's death.
"Heartbroken. These little ones, the families who live here, they do love their kids, "resident Tracy Karch told WANF." This is a very family-oriented place. This is going to hurt the community really, really bad."
Pearce appeared in court on Wednesday and was arraigned on unrelated drug charges. Court records show he now faces numerous charges connected to the baby's death, including murder, making false statements, concealing a death, tampering with evidence, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, child cruelty, and falsely reporting a crime.
"You're also charged with false statements in that you did provide contradictory statements in the investigation of a missing child, and when witness accounts verified your contradictory statements, as you admitted to concealing and falsifying material facts," Judge Keisha Wright Hill said during Pearce's bond hearing.
It is unclear at this time if Pearce has retained legal representation.