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Boy, 12, held in girl's death

By Add Seymour Jr.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
04/28/04

CARROLLTON — An 8-year-old girl who vanished Monday after she hopped on her bicycle to visit a friend was strangled by a 12-year-old boy, Carroll County authorities said Tuesday night.

"We believe he is responsible for murdering her, and we believe he acted alone," said Terry Langley, Carroll County's sheriff. The girl's body was found in an empty lake bed.

Langley wouldn't say much else about the boy, who lives in Carroll County. And police wouldn't offer a motive.

Neighbors said the boy lived in the same trailer park as Amy Yates.

The boy, whose name was not released, is being held at the Youth Detention Center in Paulding County.

"I've been with the sheriff's department for 24 years," Langley said, "and I haven't had a case like this."

The boy was arrested at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday — nearly 24 hours after Amy first disappeared.

On Monday night, when Amy first disappeared, neighbors at the Twin Oaks Mobile Home Park had hoped this sad story would have a happy ending.

But when Amy's bicycle was found between two abandoned trailers within view of her home, worry began to set in. By then, neighbors had already formed a search party.

At one point, the boy accused of killing Amy even offered to take part in the search, neighbors say. "He came with me, and asked if [Amy's mother] needed help," said Joe Morrow, 15.

That search began at about 7:45 — 90 minutes after Amy left her mobile home to visit her friend, who also lived in the trailer park.

Authorities later issued a Levi's Call alert. At about 9:30 p.m., police ordered neighbors back inside so that a helicopter could search the area using infrared technology.

An hour later, police found the girl's body about 100 yards from the white and beige trailer where she lived. She was fully clothed, say police, who say the boy strangled Amy with his bare hands.

"You hate to think when you're cooking supper, and your child goes out to play, you'll never see them again," said Terri Morris, whose son, Jesse, went to school with Amy.

Amy's father, Thomas Yates, delivers newspapers for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. His zone manager, Diane Chastain, said Amy would have turned 9 next week.

"He is so torn up," said Chastain, who talked to Thomas Yates earlier Tuesday. "He just kept saying, 'My little girl's dead, my little girl's dead.' "

Thomas Yates was too shaken to talk to reporters.

School mourns

At Central Elementary School, where Amy was a third-grader, three flags on the school's flagpole were lowered to half staff. A dozen counselors tried to console students and teachers.

"It's all really fresh, and we're all trying to process it all," said Brian Doss, Carroll County school spokesman. "It's all so new."

Most of the students, including the girl Amy had gone to visit, spent the day crying, said Jesse Morris, one of Amy's classmates. In memory of Amy, Jesse drew a picture of his friend. In that picture, Amy was riding a bike, and she safely escaped from her attacker. But, in reality, Amy didn't get away.

"The whole incident shakes me," said Langley, the Carroll County sheriff. "This is something we're not accustomed to."

It's not clear whether the boy accused of killing Amy attended the same school.

Back in town, in barber shops and cafes, residents in this town of 16,000 tried to make sense of it all.

Why, they wondered, would someone kill Amy?

Friends and family poured into the Yates' trailer. A funeral home delivered flowers. Groups of people stood outside the Yates' mobile home and hugged one another.

Earlier in the day, even before police had identified a suspect, some residents said they feared Amy's killer might be living among them.

"In my heart, I believe it was someone in this trailer park," said Shelly Bowman, who lives in the trailer park with her two children, 4 and 8. "I don't see how a stranger could've snatched her without a scream, a holler or anything.

"I just don't see it."

The Twin Oaks Mobile Home Park is wedged between low, dense woods and Smyrna Church Road, just north of Carrollton, which is 45 miles west of Atlanta.

The park is made up of three short streets with nine to 11 trailers each. Another road winds behind the woods where Amy's body was found.

Because of the thick weeds, children don't typically play in the woods, said Bill Vallandingham, a neighbor who took part in Monday's search.

Bowman and her sister, Ansley Cherry, 21, were returning from the grocery store at about 7:30 Monday night when they heard Yates was missing.

Cherry said Thomas Yates "ran to the car and asked, 'Have you seen Amy? Is she with you?' I said we hadn't seen her all day."

Cherry held her 2-year-old daughter, Teonna, close as she recalled her emotions as police posted crime-scene tape along the perimeter of her sister's property.

Bowman and Cherry described Yates as a bright, energetic girl who made friends easily, even with older kids.

She described the boy neighbors say is accused of killing Amy as a troubled child.

A man who answered the door at the trailer where neighbors say the boy lived said he had nothing to say.

Residents of the trailer park, meanwhile, were trying to make sense of the news.

Bowman said she is considering moving out. Even though the park has never had crime problems, she fears for her sons' safety.

And while Vallandingham's 14-year-old daughter doesn't live with him, he said that won't stop him from maintaining a paternal lookout over the park. "I'm going to keep my eye on these kids," he said, "all the time when I'm home."

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Trial in Girl's Killing Will Include Boy's staements

WSBTV
4/29/04

CARROLLTON -- A boy's statements implicating him in the killing of an 8-year-old girl can be used against him in a trial, a judge has ruled.

Judge Daniel P. Camp ruled Monday that the boy, now 13, voluntarily gave statements to investigators in the strangling death of 8-year-old Amy Yates, whose body was found last April near the trailer park where she and the boy lived.

The judge said the boy had not been threatened by detectives and knew his parents were in a room nearby.

Camp, however, wrote that "the most troubling aspect (was) that the interrogation lasted approximately two hours and forty minutes." But he said appellate courts have affirmed similar cases.

Defense attorney Gerald Word said Wednesday he disagreed with the ruling.

"I am real disappointed with the judge's ruling," Word said. "I was especially disappointed at the factual inaccuracies in the ruling.

"For example, the judge has the Miranda warning being given at 4:05 p.m., but the record shows it was at 5:20 p.m. Since we believe the ruling to be wrong, I expect my client will wish to appeal."

But Assistant District Attorney Jeff Hunt said he was happy with the ruling.

The boy, whose name has not been released because of his age, is being held at a detention center in Paulding County.

Yates disappeared one evening while riding her bike to a friend's home in her trailer park, where the boy also lived. Her body was found hours later in a nearby gully filled with tall weeds.

Under Georgia law, the boy is being tried as a juvenile. That means that if convicted, the maximum jail time he could receive is two years.

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Over 200 Attend Funeral for 8-Year-Old

11Alive News
4/30/04

Amy Yates hoped to be an artist when she grew up. At Yates' funeral service Friday, her framed self-portrait was displayed next to her coffin. Also flanking the coffin were two pictures of the smiling girl who was killed Monday night.

Nestled in a bed of flowers atop the closed coffin was a picture of Yates with her parents, Tom and Shari, and her younger sister Danielle.

"I can't think of anything in this world that a parent would have to go through worse than this," the Rev. Marc Curlee said at the funeral service.

A crowd of more than 200 attended the service at Midway Macedonia Baptist Church.

Yates would have celebrated her ninth birthday May 5.

"In my 23 years as a pastor, I don't know if I've ever faced anything like this," Curlee said. "After this, as a pastor, I'll never look into the face of a little boy or a little girl the same."

Also speaking at the funeral service were the Rev. John Lemmings and the Rev. Adam Lee. The internment followed the service at Carroll Memory Gardens.

Attorney Disputes Confession

Yates disappeared Monday evening while riding her bike to a friend's home in her trailer park, where the suspect, a 12-year-old boy, also lived. Her body was found hours later, fully clothed, in a nearby gully filled with tall weeds.

The boy. whose name is not being released by authorities, was charged with murder Tuesday evening after he allegedly acknowledged killing 8-year-old Amy Yates.

The suspect’s attorney, Gerald Word, said the boy was interrogated for four hours without his parents or an attorney present before reportedly admitting to the crime.

"My client steadfastly maintains his innocence in this case," Word said. "If there was an admission, it was not only under duress, it was flat wrong. I imagine I could have this 12-year-old admit to killing John Kennedy."

The boy claims he was "repeatedly called a liar" during the interrogation and was not read his rights before being questioned, Word said.

The Carroll County Sheriff's Department denied Word's allegations. While the boy was questioned without his parents present, it was not for that long, Chief Deputy Brad Robinson said.

"That's not the case," Robinson said in response to Word's claims. "I disagree with that."

Authorities have said the boy acted alone in the killing, but have refused to comment why the boy would kill the girl or what led investigators to him.

Lawmakers Pondering New Law

Prosecutors say they have no choice under Georgia law but to try the boy as a juvenile because of his age. State law says a person may only be tried as an adult if he is at least 13 years old. If convicted, the boy also could only be sentenced to up to two years in prison.

District Attorney Pete Skandalakis said the Georgia Legislature should consider changing the law.

Several state lawmakers on Thursday agreed.

"This is just a horrible crime and should be punished with the maximum level of punishment we give to adults," said Hembree, a Republican who grew up in Carroll County, where the killing occurred this week.

"I would be willing to introduce the law to make that change," he said.

Some counseled against a rush to judgment on whether the state law should change.

It is always bad policy to allow the emotion of the moment to dictate policy or shape laws," said Rep. Tom Bordeaux, a Savannah Democrat who formerly chaired the House Judiciary Committee.

"Why 12? Why not 10? Why not 8? Where do you draw the line? And should you use a horrible case, a tragic case to draw that line?"

Governor Sonny Perdue said he wanted to study the issue more before commenting

[Admin]

Boy, 12, in Court for Girl's Death

Sean Rowe
11Alive News
1/14/2005

The 12-year-old boy who strangled his 8-year-old neighbor, according to the Carroll County Sheriff's Department, is due in court for a motions hearing on Friday.

The defense is expected to request a motion to supress, said Jeff Hunt, an assistant district attorney for Carroll County. It's also likely the defense could ask that a particular statement the child made to the sheriff's department be thrown out.

Last April, the boy strangled his neighbor, Amy Yates, near the mobile home park where they both lived, the sheriff's department says. According to Georgia law, prosecutors must try the boy as a juvenile because of his age.

If convicted, he could be sentenced to up two years in prison.

On the evening of her death, Yates disappeared while riding her bicycle to a friend's home in the trailer park where she and the 12-year-old suspect lived. Her body turned up hours later, fully clothed in a nearby gully overgrown with tall weeds.

Police charged the boy, whose name has not been released, with murder the day after. He reportedly fully acknowledged killing Yates sometime before then.

The suspect's attorney, Gerald Word, said the boy was interrogated for four hours without his parents or an attorney present before reportedly admitting to the crime.

"My client steadfastly maintains his innocence in this case," Word said. "If there was an admission, it was not only under duress, it was flat wrong. I imagine I could have this 12-year-old admit to killing John Kennedy."

The boy claims he was "repeatedly called a liar" during the interrogation and was not read his rights before being questioned, Word said.

The sheriff's department denied Word's allegations. While the boy was questioned without his parents present, it was not for that long, Chief Deputy Brad Robinson said.

"That's not the case," Robinson said in response to Word's claims. "I disagree with that."

Authorities have said the boy acted alone in the killing.

More than 200 people mourned Yates passing at her funeral at Midway Macedonia Baptist Church. She was killed a month shy of her ninth birthday.

"I can't think of anything in this world that a parent would have to go through worse than this," the Rev. Marc Curlee said at the funeral service.

"In my 23 years as a pastor, I don't know if I've ever faced anything like this," Curlee said. "After this, as a pastor, I'll never look into the face of a little boy or a little girl the same."

[Admin]

Boy's Remarks to Stand at Trial

Sean Rowe
11Alive News
2/24/2005

A boy’s self-incriminating statements in the death of an 8-year-old female neighbor can be used against him in a trial, a judge ruled Monday.

The boy, now age 13 and whose identity remains private, voluntarily made statements to local investigators about Amy Yates being strangled to death, according to a ruling by Carroll County Juvenile Court Judge Daniel Camp.

Defense attorney Gerald Word said Wednesday that he disagreed with Camp’s decision. The defense maintains that the boy was never read his rights and that his parents were not present during questioning.

The judge said the boy had not been threatened by detectives and knew his parents were in a room nearby.

Camp wrote: "The most troubling aspect [was] that the interrogation lasted approximately two hours and 40 minutes." But, he said appellate courts have affirmed similar cases.

On an evening in April 2004, Yates disappeared while riding her bicycle to a friend’s home in the trailer park where she and the suspect lived. Her body turned up hours later in a nearby gully overgrown with tall weeds.

Police charged the boy with murder on the following day.

In previous testimony given during the hearing, Natalie Brunner, an agent for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, said the boy admitted going into the woods to play with the girl and said she fell down a hill after hitting her neck on his arm.

"His statements were inconsistent and he wasn't making any sense," Brunner testified.

"Did anybody ever call him a liar?" the attorney asked.

"No."

"Did anybody ever accuse him of having anything to do with the death of Amy Yates?"

"No, nobody did in my presence," Brunner said.

The boy remains at a Paulding County detention center. According to Georgia law, he will be tried as a juvenile. If convicted, he could receive a maximum jail sentence of two years.

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Boy Adjudicated in Girl's Death

The Associated Press
7/14/2005

CARROLLTON, Ga. (AP) -- A boy accused of killing his 8-year-old neighbor will avoid trial next week by agreeing to be adjudicated for a delinquent act of murder, his public defender said.

The boy, who was accused of the April 2004 strangulation of Amy Yates, did not make any statement during a Thursday hearing. In accepting the agreement, the boy did not admit to committing any delinquent act, said public defender Gerald Word.

“It’s equivalent to basically saying, ‘I didn’t do it but I want to take the plea bargain and I don’t want to risk a trial,”’ Word said of the agreement.

The boy, whose name has not been released by the court because he is a juvenile, was 12 years old when he was accused of the April 2004 strangulation of Amy Yates. He will appear on Aug. 4 before Juvenile Court Judge Dan Camp, who must determine how long the boy will serve in a juvenile detention facility.

“This has been a very emotional case and everybody was eager to have a final resolution, which we think we’ve reached,” said Jeff Hunt, assistant district attorney. “Given the limited options that we have, we’re trying to do the best that we can for the family of Amy Yates and for the community ... to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Because the boy was 12 when the girl was slain, he may only be incarcerated for a maximum of two years under Georgia law, Hunt said. Word said the boy should be given credit for time served because he has already been incarcerated for 15 months.

Yates disappeared on the evening of April 26, 2004, while riding her bike to a friend’s home. Her body was found hours later in a nearby gully filled with tall weeds.

The maximum jail time the boy could have received if convicted in the trial would have been two years under Georgia law.

Yates’s father, Tom, said Thursday that his family was surprised a pre-trial agreement had been reached because they were prepared to go to court for the trial on Monday.

“We were pleased with that because I didn’t want to have to relive the situation,” he said. “What’s happened has happened. My wife and I have been through enough.”

[Admin]

Father Lashes Out at Girl's Killer

11Alive news
Reported By: Jennifer Leslie
Editors: Tracey Christensen & Sean Rowe
8/12/2005

The father of a murdered 8-year-old girl lashed out at his daughter's killer during a sentencing hearing in Carroll County Thursday.

While holding up a picture that showed Amy Yates in her casket, Tom Yates told the teenaged boy, "I want you to look at these pictures, you little son of a (expletive)! This is my daughter.”

Judge Daniel Camp immediately interrupted, saying, “Mr. Yates, Mr. Yates, I understand. I’m allowing y’all to make a statement and the statement is there, but this is not the place for that at this time.”

The boy, who was 12 years old when he murdered Yates at the trailer park where they lived, will spend at least a year receiving psychiatric treatment for behavioral disorders, depression and anger management, Judge Camp ruled. The teenager has spent the past 16 months in a juvenile detention center.

While the now 14-year-old boy pleaded guilty to strangling his neighbor in April 2004, he continues to maintain his innocence and claims he only pleaded guilty to avoid taking the chance of going to trial.

"I don't think he has anything in his mind to be remorseful for and that's our quandary, that he's always denied any involvement in this," said defense attorney Gerald Word.

"It's a day in which no one can declare victory. No one can declare that something positive's happened," said District Attorney Pete Skandalakis.

Under Georgia law, the boy faced a maximum of two years of detention. Since he's already served more than half of that time, the judge said he can maintain control for a longer period by sending the teen to the psychiatric facility. His time of a year or longer there will be followed by six months of intense probation.

“He ended her life. He choked her to death and nobody can understand my pain. I cry everyday,” Shari Yates, the victim’s mother, said.

Tom and Shari Yates continue to push for "Amy's Law," which would allow judges to sentence juvenile killers to more than two years.

“We looked at the law and were stunned, and I’ve been a prosecutor for 20 years -- the most we could get was two years,” Skandalakis said.

Georgia law states that anyone under the age of 13 who commits a violent crime such as murder cannot be sentenced to more than two years in the juvenile justice system.

“Put your child in my child’s coffin [and] tell if two years sounds like enough,” Tom Yates said.

[Admin]

Adolescent boy who strangled 8-year-old girl sentenced

The Associated Press
8/12/05

A boy who strangled his neighbor when he was 12 and she was 8 was sentenced Thursday to an indefinite stay in a residential center to get treatment for behavioral disorders, depression and anger management.

It will be up to treatment officials to decide how long to keep the boy, Judge Daniel Camp ruled. After the treatment, the boy, now 14, will be on probation for six months.

Amy Yates disappeared after a bicycle ride in April 2004. Her body was found in a gully five hours later. After questioning residents of the Twin Oaks Mobile Home Park where Yates disappeared, authorities arrested a 12-year-old home-schooled neighbor in her death.

The killing shocked this west Georgia county. The boy, not named because of his age, weighed less than 100 pounds when he strangled Yates and dragged her to a weedy ditch dozens of yards away.

The boy did not speak or show emotion during the hearing.

Under Georgia law, the boy is in the juvenile court system. The maximum jail time he could have received was two years, and he's already spent 15 months behind bars. The boy's case was adjudicated last month before a trial and his sentence to a residential treatment center will allow him to be kept under state supervision longer.

The boy was sentenced to treatment for up to a year, but with the allowance that the center officials could decide keep him longer. The judge did not say how much longer the center could keep him after the 12 months.

Judge Camp said that he regretted that he didn't have discretion when sentencing the boy.

"My choices are limited," he said.

When the agreement was made, the girl's father said he was glad because the Yates family wanted to avoid a trial. "I didn't want to have to relive the situation," Tom Yates said.

Amy's parents brought pictures of her to court on Thursday, including photos of her in her coffin.

"I want you to know that I have no compassion for you now. I hope the image of Amy haunts you forever," Shari Yates, the girl's mother, told the boy.

Tom Yates held a portrait of his daughter in front of the boy, "I want you to look at these photos," he said angrily. He then swore at the boy and was interrupted by the judge.

The boy's parents were in court but said nothing. His mother cried during the hearing.

The killing sparked a debate about the Georgia law that suspects under 13 can't be tried as adults. At least two lawmakers said they'd introduce bills to change that, but no measure has yet been proposed.

Rep. Bill Hembree, R-Douglasville, said he still may introduce such a bill, possibly next year.

"It was such a horrible crime, and I believe the punishment should be severe," Hembree said. "We need to send a message that no matter the age, if you take a life, you get a punishment that's severe. We don't want people to get away with such minor sentences."

After the hearing, Tom Yates said the law needs to be changed.

"Put your child in my child's coffin and tell me if two years sounds like enough," Tom Yates said as he cried.

He also said he held out little his child's killer could be rehabilitated.

"He's like a Ted Bundy. I don't think there's anyway they can help this child."

The boy's attorney, Jerry Word, said a 12-year-old should not be held to the same criminal standards as an adult. Word said the boy has suffered in youth detention, getting beaten up regularly for almost 16 months.

But when asked whether the boy could be rehabilitated, Word merely shrugged.

[Admin]

GETTING TOUGH ON YOUNG CRIMINALS: Father seeks justice through 'Amy's Law'

By Jill Young Miller
Atlanta Journal Constitution
10/23/05

The red button pinned to Tom Yates' lapel calls for "Amy's Law." Since his daughter was found strangled last year and a 12-year-old boy was accused of killing her, the Carrollton resident has dogged lawmakers to enact tougher sentences for children who commit violent crimes.

Soon he may get what he wants.

Children as young as 10 who commit murder or other violent crimes could be incarcerated in a juvenile facility until they're 21 under a measure moving through a commission rewriting Georgia's juvenile code.

"Amy's Law" will be filed as a bill next month for the Legislature to consider when it convenes in January, said Sen. Bill Hamrick (R-Carrollton).

Critics of the measure worry that it focuses on punishing, rather than rehabilitating, children.

"We pay a lot of attention to punishing children and finding ways we can lock them up for longer and longer periods of time," said Normer Adams, executive director of the Georgia Association of Homes and Services for Children. "But we're doing nothing to identify those children who are at risk of committing serious crimes and doing very little to ensure that those children get the kind of care that they need in order to keep them from hurting other kids, to prevent them from committing crimes."

Currently, children younger than 13 who are convicted of murder or other serious crimes face a maximum of two years' confinement. A Juvenile Court judge, at the request of the Department of Juvenile Justice, may later add another two years.

Under Amy's Law, which is still in draft form, a judge initially could order a child locked up for up to five years if he was at least 10 years old when he committed certain serious crimes, including any of the "seven deadly sins": murder, armed robbery, rape, voluntary manslaughter, aggravated sodomy, aggravated sexual battery and aggravated child molestation.

Juveniles under 13

Children convicted of those crimes would not automatically be confined until they were 21. "After five years the judge can — after holding a hearing — extend it up to age 21," said Bob Keller, executive counsel of the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia and a commission member who helped draft the measure.

Last year, the possibility of a two-year sentence for the boy accused of strangling 8-year-old Amy Yates thrust existing state law into public debate. "The question arose as to what happens when a juvenile under 13 commits a serious crime like a murder," Hamrick said.

The 25-member commission rewriting the state's laws on juvenile crime, co-chaired by Hamrick and Rep. Mark Butler (R-Carrollton), was formed by a Senate resolution after Amy's death. Its next meeting is Nov. 10 at the Capitol, and Hamrick said he expects it to sign off on the measure.

Georgia's law is clear that children under 13 may not be tried as adults, and the proposed Amy's Law wouldn't change that. "Children of that age are not well served by being treated as adults," Hamrick said. "That's been a major discussion from the beginning, is where do you draw the line for the adult system?"

A 1994 law allows 13- to- 17-year-olds to be prosecuted as adults in Superior Court if charged with one of the seven deadly sins. Teenagers convicted of those crimes face 10 years to life behind bars.

Under Amy's Law, if a child younger than 13 commits a murder or other serious crime, the case would remain in Juvenile Court, Keller said. "We're giving judges more control, more authority to keep them in the juvenile system longer."

He called the proposal a "solution that protects the public and rehabilitates the child." Unlike the adult prison system, juvenile facilities have a legal mandate to educate, treat and rehabilitate offenders. Keller said the proposed Amy's Law doesn't specifically address treatment and rehabilitation, but those things are "implicit" throughout Georgia's juvenile code.

'Morally wrong'

Child advocate Adams called the proposed Amy's Law "clearly morally wrong."

He said the proposed law "perpetuates the myth that children can act like adults. They do not have the brain development that adults do to consider consequences, to plan out their actions and to understand in a significant way what their decisions involve."

Hamrick called Adams' comments "a good general observation." He said the commission, which will continue to meet for months, would discuss ways to improve juvenile crime prevention programs in Georgia. "But right now we're dealing with the very real situation of what happens when a 12-year-old murders an 8-year-old."

It is highly unusual for preteenagers in Georgia to be committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice for murder. It last happened in 2003.

Nationally, the juvenile arrest rate for violent crime has been declining for years. It fell 48 percent from its 1994 peak to 2003, according to statistics recently analyzed by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Georgia has experienced a similar decline, said Pete Colbenson, director of the Children and Youth Coordinating Council and a member of the commission.

The boy held responsible for Amy Yates' murder was ordered to serve at least one year in a residential psychiatric treatment facility. The boy had already been in jail for more than a year, and the judge gave him credit for 12 months of time served. "I'm limited on what I can do," Carroll County Juvenile Court Judge Daniel Camp said at the time.

Tom Yates said he thought the commission proposal named after his daughter struck the right balance.

"I think this offers a fairness when dealing with children," he said. "I think if you give somebody to the age of 21 to sit behind bars, that's going to seem like a lifetime to a child. It may not seem like a lifetime to us, but it's more fair than what it was."

[Admin]

Teen Confesses to Yates Murder

By: Duffie Dixon
Editor: Michael King
11AliveNews
2/9/2006

An 8-year-old girl was found dead in her Carroll County neighborhood two years ago. A 12-year-old boy took the blame for Amy Yates’ death and is serving his sentence right now.

But 11Alive News has learned that another person has confessed to Amy Yates’ murder.

According to sources, the person confessing is a teenaged boy who lived in the same trailer park where little Amy's family lived.

He walked into the Carroll County Sheriff's Department on Monday with some spiritual advisors and turned himself in. He has allegedly had a religious conversion recently and wanted to confess to the crime.

Investigators are checking out the teen's claims.

According to lawyers for the 12-year-old boy convicted of the murder, the boy's parents are relieved and cautiously hopeful as they await more information.

Carroll County's assistant district attorney, Jeff Hunt, released a statement late Thursday night that said, "We're aware of what has happened, and it is being investigated. We're looking into the story."

[Admin]

Police Question Murder Confession

By: Elaine Reyes
Editor: Tracey Christensen
11Alive news
2/10/2006

A teenager who now claims to have murdered 8-year-old Amy Yates in his neighborhood more than two years ago has a major inconsistency in his story, Carroll County investigators said Friday. They added that they believe the right person -- a juvenile boy who has maintained his innocence -- is already behind bars in the case.

The 18-year-old confessed on Monday to killing Yates in 2004, but investigators said they believe he has a mental and learning disability. Investigators have scheduled a specialist to talk to the teenager, who has not been arrested in the case.

"When you're interviewing a suspect, you look for things that no one else would know from the crime scene," said Chief Deputy Brad Robinson. "We want to look at if this boy's not telling the truth, what is the motive and why would he come to the sheriff's office to admit to something?"

Carroll County investigators said that despite their doubts, they are still taking the newest claims very seriously and are re-running some forensic tests in the Yates case. Amy Yates went missing in 2004 and was later found strangled near her home. At the time, investigators said a 12-year-old neighbor taken in for questioning had confessed in the case. The boy, who is now 14, pleaded guilty to the crime last August and was given a two-year sentence. With credit for the time he had served before his guilty plea, the boy has eight months left on his sentence.

The convicted juvenile's attorney said at the sentencing hearing in August that his client only pleaded guilty to avoid a trial and continued to maintain his innocence. Gerald Word now hopes the new confession will lead to his client's release.

"My hope is that when the sheriff's office and the district attorney's office finishes their investigation, and they assure me that they've expedited this, that my client will be exonerated and that he'll be released," Word said.

The Yates family is being kept aware of developments in the investigation, according to officials. Amy Yates' parents, who were not satisfied with the two-year lockup given to the juvenile, have actively lobbied to have the sentences for juvenile killers toughened in Georgia.

[Admin]

Yates Parents Want Suspect Freed

The Associated Press
3/14/2006

CARROLLTON, Ga. (AP) -- The parents of an 8-year-old Carrollton girl who was strangled in 2004 joined the parents of the boy serving time for her death Tuesday in asking authorities to release the teenager.

The father of Amy Yates, Tom Yates, said during a news conference at the Carrollton office of the boy's attorney -- Gerald Word -- that he supports Word's efforts to reopen the case.

The body of his daughter -- Amy Yates -- was found April 26, 2004, in the Twin Oaks Mobile Home Park hours after she left home to ride her bicycle to a friend's house.

The boy -- who was 12 when the girl was killed -- was sentenced in August to serve at least one year in a residential psychiatric treatment center.

The latest development comes after a mentally disabled 18-year-old came forward last month, claiming he is the one who killed the girl. Authorities have since said they do NOT believe the 18-year-old had any involvement in the death.

Carroll County Chief Sheriff's Deputy Brad Robinson says DNA samples from the 18-year-old did not match evidence at the crime scene.

[Admin]

Judge Agrees to Review Yates Case

The Associated Press
3/16/2006

CARROLLTON, Ga. (AP) - A Juvenile Court judge has agreed to hear evidence surrounding an 18-year-old's confession in the death of an 8-year-old girl, said the attorney for another teenage boy who has been imprisoned in the death.

Carroll County Public Defender Gerald Word said Judge Dan Camp has set a March 29 hearing to hear a motion to vacate the guilty adjudication against the then-12-year-old boy.

Amy Yates disappeared on the evening of April 26, 2004, while riding her bike to a friend's home. Her body was found strangled hours later in a nearby gully.

Her 12-year-old neighbor was arrested. Last year, he avoided trial by agreeing to be adjudicated for a delinquent act of murder. He is currently serving time in a residential treatment facility.

But last month, an 18-year-old, who authorities say is mentally disabled, confessed to the crime. But authorities have discounted his confession saying DNA evidence didn't match, a certified psychiatrist declared him incompetent, and the boy made an inaccurate statement involving the cause of Amy's death.

But the confession prompted Amy's parents to join the parents of the boy currently imprisoned in the death in calling for the case to be reopened.

Word said a large portion of the evidence expected to be introduced at the hearing will include testimony from witnesses who heard the 18-year-old's confession.

"A large majority of evidence will be the people who the teen confessed to, school records and records from the sheriff's office," Word said.

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Judge Bars Teen's Testimony

Editor: Duffie Dixon
11Alive News
3/29/2006

Wednesday was an emotional day in court for the parents of slain 8-year-old Amy Yates, as well as for the parents of an 18-year-old who now insists he killed her.

The mildly retarded young man was at the center of a day long hearing in Carroll County. A juvenile judge agreed to hear new evidence in the case of the April 2004 strangulation of Yates.

“He knows too much about specific details and facts that we were told to keep quiet”, said Amy’s dad Tom Yates.

The teen confessed to police in February that he killed Amy Yates and that a 14-year-old serving time for the murder since the age of 12 is innocent. On the witness stand it was a different story. Looking listless and dazed the boy recanted.

A short time later the judge halted his testimony after learning the teen was on medication. He had been hospitalized recently for psychiatric problems and attempting suicide reportedly because he was frustrated no one believed him.

The judge did agree to review the teenager's two videotaped confession to the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office.

After telling his mother, a teacher and people at his church that he was the person who killed Yates, they took the 18-year-old to the Sheriff’s Office where he repeated the story.

"His intentions was to have sex with her and he unbuttoned her pants and she started to scream and move around and that's when he put his hand over her mouth and when I asked him why, he said he was scared she was gonna tell on him and he pushed her down a hill. I asked him when he was leaving if he was still breathing and he said no," friend David Pope testified.

Bob Trussel, a former crime scene investigator took the stand saying he too believes the 18-year-old is the real killer. He said his account backs up autopsy reports about how Amy was strangled.

As for Amy’s parents, this latest hearing dredges up the whole painful event that happened two years ago.

“We just wanted the truth and we don’t care how it fits. We want to protect others. I don’t want anyone else to go through what I've been through”, said Amy’s mother Shari Yates.

There are those who do not believe the 18-year-old’s confession. Police say after reviewing the confession they are satisfied that they arrested the right person the first time around. The 18-year-old’s own mother says that if he’s guilty he should be punished but is confident he’s simply imagining the incident because of ongoing psychiatric problems.

“He's been diagnosed with bipolar and schizophrenia. The way the psychiatrist explained it to me is that the thoughts you have are real to you. I don't understand it”, she said.

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Judge Reopens Amy Yates Case

By Jaye Watson
Editor: Bryan Toussaint
4/5/2006

A Carroll County Juvenile Court judge has
reopened a case involving the killing of 8-year-old Amy Yates in 2004.

The decision frees a 14-year-old boy who was punished for the crime.

The ruling comes on the heels of a taped confession by 18-year-old Chris Gossett, who is mentally disabled. But Judge Daniel Camp said despite the fact the Gossett is disabled he is convicned that the 18-year-old did not make up his confession.

In his 14 page decision, Judge Camp outlined grisly details that Gossett gave police.

Camp noted that Gossett did specify that he laid on top of Yates with Yates' face down. Camp also stated that Mr. Gossett weighs between 250 and 300 pounds and that the autopsy showed Gossett's weight would have been consistent with the abrasions on the front of Yates' body.

Judge Camp also noted the notebook which Amy carried with her was not beside her body but rather across the creek as if someone had thrown it. Yates said Gossett confessed that he threw the notebook.

Camp stated that piece of information was not known by the general public.

Camp wrote Gossett is mentally challenged having an I.Q. of somewhere between 58 and 61.

Other experts, including Gossett's teacher agreed, that the 18-year-old is not capable of fantasizing and dreaming incidents but will normally report hard cold facts.

Judge Camp wrote in his decision that he did not find that Gossett was responsible for the death of amy yates, only that his statements are trustworthy and reliable.

Prosecutors will be able to meet with Judge Camp
next week to decide how they want to pursue the case.

Chris Gossett's mother told 11Alive that she is gald that authorities are going to reopen the case so that they prove who killed Amy Yates.

Jean Gossett said she knows her son is innocent.