Trial to start for woman charged over baby found in freezer

Trial to start for woman charged over baby found in freezer

Jury selection has begun in the trial of an Alabama woman charged in the death of her 6-month-old son, whose body was found last summer in a motel room freezer.

WSFA-TV reports opening statements may be delivered Tuesday in Amanda Gail Oakes’ trial on charges of manslaughter and corpse abuse. Authorities say Curtis James Oakes died while in the care of Oakes’ boyfriend, Carlton James Mathis.

Oakes told authorities they put Curtis in the freezer when the smell became unbearable. Dothan police have said Curtis’ cause of death is unclear, but he appears to have been dead before being placed in the freezer for five or six days.

Mathis, of Gainesville, Georgia, is charged with murder. He was arrested in Florida after a police standoff in which he was shot.

———

Information from: WSFA-TV, http://www.wsfa.com/

Read More