Missing Georgia Girl With Autism Found Dead; Mother, Partner Charged

An 8-year-old autistic Georgia girl, who went missing early Sunday, was found dead Tuesday, following which her mother and her partner have been charged on suspicion of murder.

The deceased child, identified as Amari Hall, disappeared from an Extended Stay Hotel in Gwinnett County on Sunday night, WSB-TV reported. The girl's mother, identified as Brittany Hall, claimed Sunday her daughter disappeared from the motel.

The child was last seen wearing her glasses, a tweety bird jacket and blue and white pajamas, her mother told the authorities, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Investigators found Brittany's claim that Amari was missing misleading.

Amari's body was recovered Tuesday from a wooded area of a DeKalb County neighborhood, about 15 miles from the hotel where the family was living, Gwinnett police Chief J.D. McClure told Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Brittany was charged with cruelty to children 1st degree and making a false report of a crime. She is likely to face additional charges. Celeste Owens, the domestic partner of Brittany Hall was also arrested and charged with Making False Statements in connection with the investigation, the Gwinnett County Police Department said in a statement.

"It’s extremely painful. It’s extremely painful. We all have family and we recognize the innocence of an 8-year-old child," McClure said in a press conference Wednesday. "Although we can’t bring her back, we can bring those responsible for her death to justice."

Brittany was living at the Hometown Studios at 7049 Jimmy Carter Boulevard with her three children and Owens. She called up the police Sunday to report Amari missing. Brittany told investigators Amari had last been seen between midnight and 1 a.m. ET on Sunday, prompting authorities to launch a search operation. However, the information gathered from Brittany and Owens weren't in sync. "We compared statements that we had gotten from Brittany Hall and also her partner, Celeste Owens," McClure said in the press conference. "We compared those statements and recognized those statements were indeed false."

Both Owens and Brittany were being held without bond Tuesday afternoon. Brittany has two other children, a 6-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy, who were placed in protective custody.