DOTHAN, AL (WSFA) - Two people have been charged with abuse of a corpse after their infant son’s body was found inside a freezer at an extended-stay hotel in Dothan.
Carlton James Mathis, 28 of Gainesville GA, and Amanda Gail Oakes, 36 or Murrayville GA, are both charged with one count of abuse of a corpse.
On Friday, investigators with the Dothan Police Department received information from the Hall County Sheriff’s Department in Georgia about a possible infant death. Deputies said Mathis and Oaks were possibly in the Dothan area in the company of their deceased 6-month-old, Curtis James Oaks.
Dothan investigators say they later learned Mathis and Oakes had left the area of Dothan and were possible in Florida.
On Monday, Florida officials say Mathis and Oaks were located in an apartment complex in Bronson, FL. The Levy County Sheriff’s Department and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Department attempted to make contact with Mathis as he was leaving the complex. Mathis then produced a handgun and was shot four times by a SWAT team member.
Based off of information Mathis and Oaks told investigators while in custody, Dothan police were able to determine the couple had stayed at the Intown Suites located on Ross Clark Circle.
While searching the property, investigators located the body of Curtis James Oakes inside a freezer. It appears the infant was in the freezer for about five to six days.
Curtis Oakes’ body was taken to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences where an autopsy will determine the child’s cause of death. Officials say it is believed that the child was deceased prior to being placed in the freezer, however foul play is suspected.
Mathis and Oaks are currently awaiting extradition from Levy County FL to Dothan. Murder charges are expected to be filed in the Houston County Circuit Court after the autopsy is completed.
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