A mother accused of hiding her toddler’s death by placing him in the Chattahoochee River has been indicted and charged with the boy’s murder, according to the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office.
A grand jury late last week indicted 27-year-old Breyanla Lachuan Cooper on four felony counts. Charges include malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and concealing a death. Cooper, who lives in Stone Mountain, Georgia, has been in jail since July 1. She was arrested within hours of the child’s body being found, according to Cobb police.
Cooper allegedly “did unlawfully, will malice forethought, cause the death of Faheem Cooper, a human being, by asphyxiation, contrary to the laws of said state, the good order, peace and dignity thereof,” the indictment states.
According to the indictment, Cooper killed her son between June 26 and June 27. She then placed his body in the river, investigators believe.
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On the morning of July 1, firefighters conducting a training exercise spotted the child’s body in the river, police previously said. The toddler’s remains were discovered near the Paces Mill boat ramp off Cobb Parkway, authorities said.
The boy’s exact age is not known, but investigators have said he was likely between 18 months and 3 years old. A GBI artist sketched the child’s face to help identify him.
Cooper was taken into custody just over 12 hours after the body was found. She was charged with concealing the death of another after police said she hindered investigators’ ability to determine if the death involved foul play. The warrant stated that Cooper concealed the death by “placing the victim in the Chattahoochee River.”
Investigators later confirmed Cooper was the child’s mother. The autopsy report on Faheem was not complete Monday and could not be released pending additional testing.
On Monday, Cooper remained in the Cobb jail, where she was being held without bond, booking records show.
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