11-year-old drowned 8-year-old in construction pit in GA, attorney says. He’s sentenced
An 11-year-old is accused of luring an 8-year-old boy to a water-filled pit and holding his head down until he drowned, according to a Georgia attorney.
He’s now been sentenced to the maximum punishment of two years in juvenile detention, the same sentence a 10-year-old received in connection with the same incident, attorney Francys Johnson told McClatchy News.
Johnson is representing the family of 8-year-old Noah Bush, who was found dead in a borrow pit used for construction on May 16 after being reported missing the day before in Jesup.
The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office initially said there was no foul play involved, WJCL reported.
“Why the sheriff said for 55 days that it was an accidental drowning is beyond me,” Johnson told McClatchy News.
The community protested investigators’ quick conclusion, and eventually, an autopsy revealed the child had drowned, and the manner of death was a homicide, WSB-TV reported.
“I just want to say thank you so much to the community,” his mother, Demetrice Bush, said in a news conference broadcast by WSAV when the charges were announced. “If it weren’t for you standing by my side, helping me to continue on to push for justice, we wouldn’t have gotten as far as we have.”
Two children were arrested, but the 11-year-old faced a more severe charge of involuntary manslaughter, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. One of the kids’ mothers was also charged, Johnson said.
The attorney said the boy participated in the widespread search for Noah Bush, even though he knew what had happened.
He was sentenced Aug. 22.
“My baby was 8 years old with a full life ahead of him,” Demetrice Bush told WJCL after the sentencing. “And two years is what the state of Georgia calls justice for an entire life that’s lost.”
Johnson said he explained to the family that the sentence is the maximum allowed under Georgia law.
“But what is legal is not necessarily what is right,” he said.
The law firm, Davis Bozeman Johnson, is still calling for adults involved in the case to be brought to justice.
Jesup is about a 70-mile drive southwest from Savannah.