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Keara Cotton and her 4-year-old son, Jayceion Mathis (Georgia Bureau of Investigation).
A Georgia woman has been sentenced after admitting to the murder of her 4-year-old son and attempting to flee from law enforcement. The tragic case of Keara Cotton, 31, concluded with her pleading guilty to charges of second-degree murder and concealing a death, four years after she was initially charged with the crime against her son, Jayceion Mathis. On what would have been his ninth birthday, a judge sentenced Cotton to 25 years in prison, as stated in a press release from Crisp County District Attorney Brad Rigby.
The investigation began when Cotton’s family grew concerned about the absence of young Jayceion, having not seen him for several months. On January 20, 2022, they reported their worries to the Vienna Police Department. When local authorities were unable to locate Cotton, they enlisted the help of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).
On January 24, 2022, the GBI announced Cotton’s arrest. The following day, the case took a somber turn when officials discovered a child’s remains in Cordele, Georgia. These remains, found wrapped in a shopping bag and a shower curtain near a shopping center, were later confirmed to belong to Jayceion, as detailed by Rigby.
According to local Fox and ABC affiliate WGXA, upon Cotton’s arrest, she confessed to police that in November 2021, Jayceion did not wake up one morning. Instead of seeking medical assistance, she wrapped his body and kept it at her residence. WGXA also reported that in January 2022, Cotton had communicated with her family, indicating her intention to visit them and bring Jayceion along.
Local Fox and ABC affiliate WGXA reported that after Cotton was apprehended, she told police that on one morning in November 2021, Jayceion did not wake up. She did not call for help, and instead wrapped up the boy’s body and lived with it in her home. WGXA reported that Cotton spoke to her family in January 2022 and told them that she would come see them and bring Jayceion with her.
When she was a no-show, Cotton’s family contacted police. Authorities later determined that Cotton fled to three different areas in Georgia in order to evade law enforcement.
Rigby said the medical examiner was unable to determine Jayceion’s exact cause of death due to the condition of his body.
WGXA reported that Cotton was the subject of an investigation by the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services in connection with Jayceion and his older sister. Two months before the little boy was found dead, Cotton faced allegations that she was not feeding or bathing her children. Similar reports were filed and resolved in the years leading up to Jayceion’s death.
Cotton was sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to murder and concealing a death.