Cause of death revealed for 6-month-old boy found in trash bag; parents denied bond

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. (WANF/Gray News) - Authorities in Georgia have revealed the cause of death for a 6-month-old baby whose body was found in a trash bag days after his father reported him missing.

Clayton police said Friday that 6-month-old Nnakai Pratt died by blunt force trauma. Officers found the baby dead last Tuesday inside a trash bag near a Riverdale apartment complex, according to an arrest warrant for his father, Antonio Pearce.

Police said Nnakai had suffered a head injury.

Pearce is charged with multiple counts in connection with his son’s death, including murder and providing false statements to police. He reported Nnakai missing last Sunday, but police said his story and the account of the baby’s mother, Necolette Pratt, didn’t match up.

Pearce claimed he was robbed at gunpoint and that the robbers took Nnakai and escaped “in an unknown direction.”

Pratt is also facing charges related to her son’s death. She is charged with party to a crime, making false statements and obstruction of law enforcement officers, according to an arrest warrant.

Pearce’s arrest warrant specifically mentions Pratt, noting that when detectives interviewed her, she “showed an unusual lack of emotion.”

“Necolette would rock and moan, but at no time did she cry any tears for her missing child,” the warrant states.

The warrant also noted that detectives found inconsistencies in both parents’ stories and timelines during the investigation.

According to Pratt’s arrest warrant, she told officers that Pearce had previously shaken Nnakai.

On Friday, a judge denied Pearce bond for the aggravated battery, aggravated assault, tampering with evidence and concealing the death of another charges he is facing. He was given a $10,000 bond for the false statements charge.

Pearce is also facing a murder with malice charge that can only be ruled on by a superior court. His preliminary hearing was set for Nov. 10.

Pratt was denied bond for all charges, except the obstruction charge, which is a misdemeanor. She is expected back in court for a preliminary hearing Nov. 12.

Nnakai’s death has deeply affected residents of the Riverdale community. They built a small memorial, adorned with a white cross, teddy bears and candles, in the place where his body was found.

Tia Mason stopped by to decorate the memorial.

“I’m really trying not to cry because I have five kids, and I couldn’t imagine doing anything to them or letting their father do anything to them,” Mason said.

Nnakai had a twin sister, who is now in the custody of Georgia’s Division of Family and Children Services.