Left inset: Brittany Hall (Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office). Right inset: Amari Hall (Gwinnett County). Background: The wooded area in Gwinnett County, Ga., where Amari Hall’s body was found (WAGA/YouTube).
A Georgia mother who reported her 8-year-old daughter missing — telling cops she was “extremely concerned” for her safety — has admitted to murdering the youngster with help from her girlfriend.
Brittany Hall, 31, pleaded guilty this week to felony murder, 11 counts of cruelty to children, concealing the death of another and making false statements for the 2021 death of her daughter Amari Hall, according to a Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office press release. She was sentenced to life in prison.
Hall and her girlfriend, Celeste Owens, who was convicted last year, made several web searches on the day Amari, who had autism, was reported missing. Those searches included: “What to do when a child just doesn’t listen,” “Lakes near me,” “How does sewers on the streets work,” “Why do kids run away,” “How do I report someone missing,” and “U-Haul: Customer Account,” according to prosecutors.
Amari Hall’s younger sister, now 9, took the stand during Owens’ trial and described how their mom placed toilet paper in Amari’s mouth so she “wouldn’t wake up,” according to local Fox affiliate WAGA.
“[Hall] tried to wake her up, and after that she got put in a container with a lid on it, and got put in the trunk of the car and drove to the bad kid’s hospital,” the sister reportedly testified.
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Hall and Owens reported Amari missing on Nov. 19, 2021, while staying at a Norcross hotel with her two younger siblings. The pair claimed they woke up and that she was gone.
Owens told investigators that she had gone to her grandmother’s home in Tucker the night before Amari went missing and came back early in the morning. Authorities sent out a news release and alerts afterward about Amari’s disappearance, unaware that it was Hall and Owens who were responsible.
“Hall was last seen wearing a blue Tweedy-Bird jacket, with a blue and white pajama set,” the release said. “She is possibly wearing her glasses and her rainbow light-up shoes,” it added. “Hall’s mother is extremely concerned for her daughter’s safety.”
Police reportedly found Amari’s body in a wooded area near the Stone Mountain Freeway. Hall was questioned further and she claimed that Owens killed Amari and then transported her body in a rented U-Haul truck to the location where she was found.
“[Amari] was located with three white-colored trash bags around her body,” testified Gwinnett County crime scene investigator Kea Jimenez during Owens’ trial, according to WAGA.
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Surveillance footage played in court during Owens’ trial showed her renting a U-Haul van and driving it toward the area where Amari was found. Police said the child was buried in a small, shallow grave off Stone Mille Drive in DeKalb County.
“Investigators determined that Hall and Owens were not telling the truth about the child going missing and were able to find evidence of abuse of the other children,” the DA’s office said in its release announcing Hall’s guilty plea.
“This mother failed to protect her children and joined in the abuse,” said Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson in a statement. “This ended tragically,” the prosecutor said. “We continue to pray that her siblings can heal from the abuse they endured and that this plea brings closure to them and their extended family.”
The two siblings were put into state custody after the incidents, per reports.
