William DaShawn Hamilton was a child found deceased near a church cemetery in 1999. He received the nickname "Dennis" from authorities who were working on his case while unidentified.
In June 2022, the child was identified as William DaShawn Hamilton. Hamilton's mother, Teresa Bailey Black, was charged with his murder, but was later acquitted. She was convicted of concealing Hamilton’s body and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Case[]
The body was found skeletonized. The child appeared to have been well-cared for and may have been from either Georgia or possibly northern Florida.
His cause of death was never determined, however; the autopsy report revealed that he had cold medicine in his system. Once he was identified, his mother was indicted for killing him by poisoning him with medication and striking him in the head with an unknown object.
In October 1999, a woman using the name "Dawn Anderson" called the coroner's office and stated the child's name was Cabell Brown. It has been stated due to the woman's emotional state as well as the quality of the phone call, the child's actual name could have been somewhat different than what was recorded.
The call was traced to the Florida Institution of Technology in Melbourne, Florida, they were unable to locate someone using the woman's name or any report of a missing boy with the same name.
In January 2024, Hamilton’s mother was found not guilty of murder, child cruelty, and aggravated assault, but guilty of concealing Hamilton’s body and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Gallery[]
Sources[]
- William Hamilton at the Doe Network
- William Hamilton on Wikipedia
- The Fall Line Podcast
- Fox 5 Atlanta
- 11 Alive
- WSBTV
- NCMA (archived)
- Investigation Discovery