Mother Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison For Concealing 6-Year-Old Son’s Death
An Arizona woman was sentenced to 10 years after she was found guilty of concealing her 6-year-old son’s death in Georgia, according to reports.
The case’s events span more than two decades, starting in 1999 when authorities found the body of a young boy in the woods. The body was identified as William Hamilton in 2022, and Teresa Black was extradited from her home in Arizona to face trial in Georgia.
Black faced several charges, including felony murder, cruelty to children and aggravated assault. But on Wednesday, she was found guilty of only one charge — concealing the death of another.
Ten years was the maximum sentence for Black’s charge. She will get credit for the more than 500 days she’s already served.
Before the sentencing, the prosecutor said Black told extended family members Hamilton was still alive and falsely filed for child support against his father in 2002.
“She showed no remorse,” she said. “She continued to live her life in Atlanta afterward, lying to everyone she came across.”
Margaret Hamilton, William’s grandmother, said she is heartbroken she will never see her grandson become a man.
“Everybody got feelings, and somewhere along the line, in my heart, (Black) lost her feelings,” Margaret said. “… It hurts so bad. It hurts so bad.”
Meanwhile, the defense said Black regrets her actions. She had Hamilton when she was 15 and had come across hard times, including an abusive relationship, according to the lawyer.
“Leaving William in the woods was the greatest mistake of Teresa’s life,” he said. “She has held that regret, and the shame and guilt of that, for 25 years.”
Her defense attorney said she has worked to turn her life around in recent decades.
“She has worked to get her life on track, and she has,” her lawyer said in court Friday. “She has raised a daughter who loves her very much and extremely involved in her life directly.”
After medications were found in Hamilton’s body, prosecutors argued during the case that Black overdosed Hamilton and withheld medical treatment. But the defense argued Black was treating her sick son. The two were homeless, and William didn’t wake up after the two went to sleep in the wooded area where his body was found, according to the defense.
The judge said only Black knows what really happened, and she will have to face her decision for the rest of her life.
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