A mother in Alabama has reportedly been charged with manslaughter after her 6-month-old son was found in a freezer.
Amanda Gail Oakes was charged by Dothan police on Monday, according to a report by PEOPLE. The department told reporters that the 36-year-old mom and her boyfriend, 28-year-old Carlton James Mathis, had been picked up in Bronson, Florida. Authorities tracked them down after learning that her son, Curtis James Oakes, was dead.
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In Florida, Oakes and Mathis had a shoot-out with police. In the end, Mathis was hit four times. They were arrested and charged with abuse of a corpse, though officers found now trace of Curtis’ remains.
At that point, Dothan police searched the couple’s local hotel room, and found Curtis in the freezer. In their press release, they said that he had likely been in there for five or six days.
Oakes is currently being held without bond, according to a report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, while Mathis is reportedly in custody on a $1 million bond. He is already a felon based on a previous offense, and violated the law by having a firearm at the time of his arrest.
Police are hoping to levy full-blown murder charges against Mathis when he is eventually extradited back to Alabama. He is also facing charges for assault and drug possession. Police have also not officially named Curtis’ cause of death.
The story shocked users on Facebook, who took to the comments section to share their horror at Oakes and Mathis’ behavior.
“God help these poor babies being raised by these monsters,” one person wrote. “Every night there are so many beautiful children suffering at the hands of these people that gave birth to them . They don’t deserve to be called parents!”
“Don’t call her mother, as she was only an incubator,” added another. “A real mother doesn’t harm her child.”
“Stomach churning, so sad for this precious baby and so angry at this supposedly human,” commented a third.