Missing Georgia Boy Reunited With Mother After 4 Years, Father Denied Bail After Hiding Him Behind Fake Wall
A 13-year-old boy missing for nearly four years reunited with his mother Saturday after being found in his father's Georgia home.
Clayton County police found the boy hidden behind a fake wall that was covered by towels in his father's garage. Police arrested the dad, 37-year-old Gregory Jean along with the 42-year-old stepmom Samantha Joy Davis.
They were charged with obstruction, false imprisonment and cruelty to children.
Three juveniles were also arrested for being involved in the case.
"They were really nice people, very open, they said come over anytime you want," Julie Pizarro, a neighbor who lives across the street, told WXIA. "The young man didn't seem under any distress. I guess you never know what's behind closed doors."
The 13-year-old boy played outside every day with other children in the neighborhood, and people were under the assumption that he was being homeschooled.
Neighbor Akono Ekundayo said he and his wife saw the boy all the time.
"Gosh, it was right under our nose. We could have done something," Ekundayo said. "But he was never in distress, it didn't seem like."
Police checked Gregory's home a couple of times before finding the boy who had called his mother to tell her he was hidden behind the fake wall.
A Clayton County judge denied bond Sunday morning for Jean and Davis and dismissed a previous charge of obstruction. Davis, the boy's stepmom, is on probation for child cruelty and is accused of causing physical harm after hitting her stepson with a stick.
The judge has expressed his concern over the efforts in hiding the boy, who was found in a hidden compartment of a storage closet.
Jean and Davis will be back in court on Dec. 9.
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