Earlier this year, a 9-year-old boy was discovered dead and buried in a shallow grave behind his previous residence in Detroit. Reports revealed that 10 months prior to the tragic incident, the boy had informed Child Protective Services that his mother used to choke him regularly and expressed fears that she intended to end his life.
The boy, identified as Zemar King, had his mother, 41-year-old Brandee Katrice Pierce, listen to his words during her formal arraignment on charges that included murder, child abuse, tampering with evidence, and concealing a person’s death, according to The Detroit News.
On January 6, the landlord preparing the Detroit property for new occupants made the grim discovery of King’s body in the backyard. Authorities mentioned that the boy was found with his hands and feet tied, as reported by CrimeOnline.
Investigators believe Pierce killed the boy and buried him in the yard in October. She moved to Georgia in November, where she was arrested and extradited to Michigan.
A magistrate judge entered a not guilty plea on Pierce’s behalf on Friday and ordered her held without bond, according to The News. She has a probable cause conference scheduled for March 7 followed by a preliminary examination on March 13.
The landlord called police on January 6 after finding a small human foot sticking out of the frozen ground. An autopsy determined the boy was choked and smothered to death.
Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Tina Ripley told the court on Friday that Pierce, King, and her other child went to a hospital for an incident in April 2024, and during that visit, King told Child Protective Services that his mother “chokes him and wants to kill him.” She did not provide CPS’s response to those comments.
“She heard his last gasping breath and decided to walk way,” Ripley said. “When she came back, Zemar was blue. And instead of helping him, she decided to bind his arms and legs, put him in a wagon, take him out to the hole she had dug in her backyard and bury him.”
After King’s death, she and her other son, a toddler, moved to Georgia, where officials say the 3-year-old is now in foster care. Ripley said she was twice arrested in Georgia, on charges related to her son and drugs.
Pierce faces up to life without parole if convicted.
