A Norcross mother was convicted this week in the brutal death of her 8-year-old daughter, Amari Hall.
Brittany Hall (pictured left) pleaded guilty to felony murder, multiple counts of child cruelty, concealing a death and making false statements.
Hall, 31, was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday.
Brittany Hall and her girlfriend, Celeste Owens (top right), reported Amari missing on Nov. 19, 2021.
The couple and Brittany’s three children were homeless and lived in a motel, according to the district attorney’s office.
Amari, who was diagnosed with high-functioning autism, sometimes ran away due to the abuse she suffered at the hands of Brittany and Celeste (left).
Celeste’s online searches included the terms, “What to do when a child doesn’t listen,” “Lakes near me,” “How do sewers on the streets work,” “Why do kids run away,” “How do I report someone missing” and “U-Haul: Customer Account.”
Celeste told investigators the children called her “dad.” She said she sometimes grew frustrated with them and gave them a “licking,” which she described as slaps on their hands.
However, cameras inside the motel room captured footage of the couple beating and stomping all three children, according to the district attorney’s office.
Following hours of police interrogation, Celeste abandoned her masculine facade and broke down sobbing. Through her tears she continued to deny killing Amari and insisted she didn’t know where Amari was.
Amari’s body was later found in a wooded area in DeKalb County. Surveillance footage and GPS showed Celeste rented a U-Haul that she drove to the same area in DeKalb County.
Celeste confessed that Brittany Hall killed Amari.
Celeste and Brittany were both arrested and charged with felony murder in 2021. Celeste went on trial first in 2024.
Amari’s 9-year-old sister, Zaire, testified during Celeste’s trial. Zaire said she saw her mother, Brittany, stuff toilet paper down Amari’s throat the night before she went missing.
When Amari didn’t wake up the next morning, the women placed her body in a container. Zaire said Celeste took the container to the “bad kids hospital.”
Last December Celeste Owens was convicted and sentenced to life in prison plus 235 years.
Amari’s 2 siblings are in the custody of their maternal grandparents.
