A Detroit mother is facing multiple charges, including first-degree murder, after her 9-year-old son was found dead, buried in a shallow grave in the backyard of their home, authorities announced today. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy levied the charges against 41-year-old Brandee Katrice Pierce, detailing crimes of first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder, first-degree child abuse, alongside tampering with evidence, and interfering with a death investigation, reported The Detroit News.

The chilling discovery of the body was made on January 6th when a nearby landlord preparing a home for a new tenant stumbled upon the grave located in the 19700 block of Woodingham Drive, a statement detailed by ClickoOnDetroit, Detroit police arrived on the haunting scene to find a small human foot protruding from the ground, the victim was later identified through autopsy as Zemar King. His untimely death was caused by smothering and neck compression, and his mother, who shortly thereafter fled to Georgia with her younger son, left behind a scene that suggests a narrative we can hardly bear to articulate.

Pierce, now in police custody in Georgia, is accused of smothering her son, binding him, and then burying him in the hole she dug after purchasing a shovel, according to statements made by Prosecutor Worthy in a WXYZ report. The alleged murder took place in October 2024; following the act, Pierce is said to have moved with her 3-year-old son to Georgia. Her actions unwittingly set in motion a chain of communication between the Brookhaven Police Department and Detroit police when she came under investigation for an unrelated matter on December 20, 2024.