Mom charged with child abuse and murder after remains of her son, 9, found buried in her backyard
Following an investigation by the Detroit Police Department (DPD), the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office has charged Brandee Katrice Pierce, 41, of Detroit, in connection with the homicide of her nine-year-old son, Zemar King.
On January 6, 2025, at approximately 1:22 p.m., Detroit police officers were dispatched to a residence in the 19700 block of Woodingham for reports of found human remains. The landlord called the police because he was working at the house to prepare for a new tenant – and that’s when he discovered a shallow grave.
Upon their arrival, officers discovered the remains of a deceased child buried in the backyard of the home. The medical examiner ruled the victim’s death a homicide from smothering and compression to the neck.
It is alleged that on October 24, 2024, Pierce fatally assaulted her son, Zemar. It is also alleged that Pierce buried Zemar’s deceased body in the backyard of the home. On November 6, 2024, she abandoned her rental home and left the state for Georgia with her three-year-old son.
According to Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, Pierce allegedly murdered King and then bought a shovel, dug a hole behind the garage of her rental home on Woodingham, and buried his body in October 2024. The child’s hands and feet were bound, Worthy said. An autopsy showed that the child died from neck compression and being smothered.
“I have been a prosecutor for a long time, and I often say that I have seen it all. The horrors of this child abuse case defy that. The alleged actions of this defendant are among the most callous I have seen and hope never to see again,” Worthy said. ~ Fox 2 Detroit
On December 20, 2024, the Brookhaven Police Department in Atlanta, Georgia, investigated Pierce on an unrelated matter concerning her surviving son and alerted the Detroit Police Department. On January 10, 2025, the Detroit Police Department, assisted by the Cobb County Sherriff’s Office, investigated the homicide of Zemar and arrested her in Georgia in connection with his homicide.
Pierce has been charged with:
- Count One: First-Degree Murder,
- Count Two: Felony Murder,
- Count Three: First-Degree Child Abuse,
- Count Four: Tampering with Evidence, and
- Count Five: Concealing the Death of an Individual.
For more on this horrific story of child abuse and murder, see the video accompanying this article.
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(Source: Detroit Police Department)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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