GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A missing 8-year-old from Gwinnett County has been found dead, and both her mother and her mother’s partner are now facing charges.
Police said they found Nicole 'Amari' Hall’s body around 10:45 a.m. Tuesday in the woods near the Stone Mill Trace neighborhood in DeKalb County.
In a news conference, Gwinnett County Police Chief J.D. McClure said the child’s mother was already in custody when they found her body. Arrest records show she is facing several felony charges of child cruelty and one count of false report of a crime.
The mother’s partner, 29-year-old Celeste Owen, will face a murder charge, according to police. Chief McClure said she’s already in jail on child cruelty charges.
Investigators had been searching for Hall since Sunday morning when her mother first reported her missing from the HomeTowne Studios hotel in Peachtree Corners.
They say the investigation transitioned from a missing persons case to a homicide case after comparing statements from the child's mother and her partner.
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