Mom and lesbian partner are charged over murder of missing autistic daughter

Mom and lesbian partner are charged over murder of missing autistic daughter
Mom and lesbian partner are charged over murder of missing autistic daughter

A mother-of-three and her lesbian partner has been arrested after her eight-year-old daughter was found dead in woods after allegedly going missing. 

On Sunday, Gwinnett County police in Georgia received a call from Brittany Nicole Hall saying she couldn't find her child Nicole.

The little girl, who wore glasses, was last seen between midnight and 1am and had been staying with Hall, her two other children and her partner Celeste Owens at a long-stay hotel in Norcross, north-east of Atlanta.

She had been wearing a Tweety Bird jacket and blue and white pajamas, her mother said.

On Tuesday morning, her body was found in a wooded area of a DeKalb County neighborhood 15 miles from the hotel where the family was living.

A mother-of-three and her lesbian partner has been arrested after her eight-year-old daughter was found dead in woods after allegedly going missing in Norcross, north-east of Atlanta, Georgia

A mother-of-three and her lesbian partner has been arrested after her eight-year-old daughter was found dead in woods after allegedly going missing in Norcross, north-east of Atlanta, Georgia

Investigators in the case said they became suspicious regarding 'inconsistencies' in the statements by Hall and Owens, and both have been charged in the case, with the partner facing a murder charge.

'It's extremely painful. It's extremely painful,' Gwinnett police Chief J.D. McClure said. 'We all have family and we recognize the innocence of an 8-year-old child.

'Although we can't bring her back, we can bring those responsible for her death to justice.'

Police said Hall and her family were living at a Hometown Studios building on Jimmy Carter Boulevard when at around 9.15am on Sunday she called authorities to report Nicole missing. 

The mother said she was particularly worried because Nicole had autism and was new to the area.

Investigators launched a search for the girl and released a photo of her, wearing a white top and with pigtails. 

Mother: Brittany Hall, 27

Lesbian partner: Celeste Owens, 29

Owens (right) was arrested and charged with six counts of first-degree cruelty to children and making false statements. A statement on Tuesday upgraded those charges to include murder, concealing a death, and a seventh count of child cruelty. Hall (left) was charged with making

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