6 juveniles charged in drowning death of teen in Columbus, Georgia

Lina Portman3 weeks ago

0 2 minutes read

Six children, including a 9-year-old, have been criminally charged in connection with the drowning death of a 15-year-old boy last month, Georgia police announced Thursday.

The teen's death occurred late last month in Columbus, a city about 185 miles southwest of Atlanta, not far from the Alabama border.

According to the Columbus Police Department in Georgia, shortly before 2:30 p.m. on May 29, officers responded to a report of a body floating in a retention pond near a set of fields behind a residential neighborhood in the Oakland Park neighborhood.

Police identified the victim as 15-year-old Zahmere Greene.

Preliminary findings from the department's violent crimes unit revealed that Zahmere drowned on May 23, but the incident was not reported until six days later.

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Coroner rules Zahmere Greene's death a homicide

The Muscogee County Coroner's Office conducted an autopsy and a medical examiner ruled the circumstances of Zahmere's death a homicide, police spokeswoman Brittany Santiago told USA TODAY Friday.

Further investigation, police reported, revealed that six juveniles had witnessed the boy's drowning, including one – an 11-year-old boy – who was on top of the victim at the time of his death.

Six juveniles aged 9 to 17 charged in death of Zahmere Greene

According to police, the following juveniles are charged in this case:

A 17-year-old boy: Concealing the death of others;
A 12-year-old girl: Concealing the death of others;
An 11-year-old boy: Manslaughter and concealment of the death of others;
An 11-year-old girl: Concealing the death of others;
An 11-year-old girl: Concealing the death of others;
A 9-year-old boy: Covering up the death of another.

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An 11-year-old child was said to be on top of the victim

Police say the 11-year-old boy accused of manslaughter was on top of the victim before he died.

As of Friday, police said, the 11-year-old boy was being held at the Regional Youth Detention Center.

Santiago said the boy and the victim knew each other and it is believed the children were all enrolled in the Muscogee County school district.

USA TODAY contacted the school district.

17-year-old boy charged as adult just in case

The 17-year-old boy — the older brother of one of the women charged in the case — recently turned himself in, Santiago said, and was arrested and booked into the Muscogee County Jail.

The teenager is being prosecuted in adult court and on June 7, the day of his arrest, a judge sent his case back to Muscogee County Superior Court after finding probable cause in the case.

Lina Portman

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