Georgia mom charged with murder after 6-year-old son found stabbed after apartment fire
Police announced Tuesday the arrest of a Georgia mother on murder and arson charges after firefighters found her 6-year-old son fatally stabbed while battling an apartment fire at their home.
According to the Gwinnett County Police Department, Jayveon Pruitt was found with multiple stab wounds as firefighters responded to a Thursday morning fire at an apartment in Peachtree Corners, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area.
Police said A’zaria Shante Burton, 23, faces charges including murder, first-degree arson, aggravated assault, tampering with evidence, possession of a knife during the commission of a crime and first-degree cruelty to children.
Multiple stab wounds
Just before 8 a.m. Thursday, police and fire crews responded to an apartment complex where the mother and son lived for a report of a residential fire, police wrote in a press release.
A resident on the upper level called 911 after hearing a fire alarm coming from a unit on the ground floor, according to the release. Arriving firefighters entered a unit on the ground floor where they discovered an unresponsive boy who appeared to have suffered multiple stab wounds, police said.
The child, later identified by police as Jayveon, was the only person inside the apartment when firefighters responded to the scene, police said.
Jayveon was taken by EMS to a hospital, where police said he was pronounced dead.
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Wet clothing and one sock
Shortly after the boy was found, police said, officers arrived on scene and began searching the area.
About 9:15 a.m., officers found a woman − later identified by police as Jayveon's mother − behind the apartment building.
Her clothing was wet, police said, and she wore only one sock.
Police, who said she lived in the apartment with her son, took her into custody and the following day, arrested her and booked into the local jail on the felony charges.
A Gwinnett County Medical Examiner's Office spokesperson told USA TODAY on Tuesday the office conducted an autopsy on the boy and his official cause and manner of death were pending.
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''Everything was so normal'
Police did not release a motive in the boy's killing. But WSB Radio reported detectives said Jayveon's mother was "facing eviction."
The boy's grandmother, Chastidy Brown of Mississippi, told the outlet the killing came as a shock. "Everything was so normal," Brown said. "We just talked to him Wednesday... He even said he had the best mom ever. He was just so precious. He loved his mom. He loved his dad.”
Online records showed Burton remained jailed without bond on Tuesday.
It was not immediately known if Burton had obtained an attorney.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.