A Georgia mother will spend the rest of her life in prison for murdering her son and leaving his body in the Chattahoochee River.
On Wednesday, 29-year-old Breyanla Cooper pleaded guilty to charges of malice murder, aggravated assault, and concealing a death.
The toddler’s body was found on the morning of June 29, 2021, at Paces Mill Park as employees with the Cobb County Fire Department shot a PSA about water safety. During the event, a firefighter spotted something floating in the river. When they went to investigate further, they discovered the body of 19-month-old Faheem Cooper.
After news stations reported on the terrible discovery, officials say Breyanla Cooper contacted the Cobb County Police Department to see if she could identify the body.
Cooper told detectives that a man had taken her son from a hotel in the county because she owed him money, saying that she never reported the kidnapping out of fear.
When investigators checked the hotel’s surveillance footage, however, they found no evidence that the toddler was there or that any kidnapping took place.
GPS data from Cooper’s car showed that she went to the Chattahoochee River and remained there from 5:57 p.m. to 8:08 p.m. three days before the boy’s body was found. Officials believe it was then that she killed her son and left him in a river.
After arresting Cooper, detectives seized her cell phone. Data from the device showed that Cooper had searched for foster care and the Chattahoochee River earlier in the month. Cooper’s older daughter revealed in an interview with detectives that her mother “told her their time with Faheem was done,” the Cobb County District Attorney said.
“It is unfathomable that a human being could do this to a baby. It is unspeakable that a mother would do this to her own flesh and blood,” Senior Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Green said at Cooper’s plea hearing on Wednesday,
After pleading guilty, a Cobb County judge sentenced Cooper to life in prison.
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