Jamerria Hall Baltimore mother confesses to killing her two children, Da’Neira Thomas, 6, and Davin Thomas Jr., 8, whose decomposing bodies were found at an apartment. History of prior offences and lapse in City Child Protective Services.
Why? A 28 year old Maryland woman has confessed to killing her two children after their bodies were found in a Southwest Baltimore apartment complex on Tuesday according to authorities.
Murder charges were pending against Jamerria Hall of Baltimore, described as the mother of Da’Neira Thomas, 6, and Davin Thomas Jr., 8, whose ‘decomposing’ bodies were found in their apartment in the 500 block of Coventry Road, Tuesday afternoon.
The mother according to police fled the scene after the killings, WJZ-TV reported.
During a Wednesday press conference, Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said detectives had ‘worked very hard’ to track down the mother, and apprehended her on Wednesday morning. During police questioning, Hall allegedly confessed to the double murder.
‘There is nothing more difficult than investigating the murder of a child, much less two children,’ Harrison reportedly said.
Mother arrested in 2018 for criminal offences against her children
Police said someone called them to Coventry Manor Apartments in Southwest Baltimore Tuesday afternoon because something smelled bad.
When officers arrived at the scene, they found the two children, and their bodies were decomposing. It remained unclear when exactly the children were killed along with the manner and cause of death.
The police commissioner said there were reports that the children were seen as recently as last week.
Of note, it wasn’t the first time the mother had been arrested for offences against the children.
WMAR obtained records showing prior incidents involving the children. In 2018, Hall set fire to a home while Da’Neria and Davin were inside. Shortly after that, she and her children were reported missing and found at a local hospital. She reportedly disabled the smoke alarms before setting the fire.
Hall was convicted on two counts of criminal negligence and served a year in jail. It is unclear where the children lived during their mother’s incarceration, or if Child Protective Services ever had involvement with the family.
Hall was charged with first degree arson as well as endangering the lives of her children, and pleaded guilty and received a five-year sentence with all but one year suspended. She was ordered to pay $3,000 restitution for the damage to the home.
‘Y’all been driving me crazy! But I love y’all kids,’
The WMAR report suggests the children’s father was present in their lives; records show the father and Hall attended a custody hearing in 2019, but it is not clear if the father was challenging an existing custody arrangement.
Hall was granted full child custody when the children’s father didn’t respond to the court proceedings.
Locals told of being left reeling the baltimoresun reported, with neighbors saying they regularly saw the children playing together outside the complex, while saying Hall had written on social media often about both the joys and struggles of motherhood. She even featured the kids on a podcast she started called BMorE Charming.
‘Y’all been driving me crazy! But I love y’all kids,’ Hall said during one recording last year. One of the children replied, ‘I love you too’.
Mayor Brandon Scott responding to the tragedy pledged a review of Child Protective Services to identify any agency lapses that might have contributed to the children’s deaths.
City Child Protective Services did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. A spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of Human Services, which includes Child Protective Services, said confidentiality laws prevent her from confirming the agency’s involvement in the case.
Sinking into depression
On Facebook, Hall posted in April about struggling with depression and how it guided her to a new business opportunity selling hemp-infused products.
‘In the beginning of the 2020 pandemic I found myself going back into depression. I was not able to work because my family needed me at home,’ Hall wrote. ‘Every month I had supervised probation office visits. I suffer from myofacial pain syndrome. PTSD always taps me on the shoulder and triggers my anxiety.’
She also posted about her children.
‘My two little best friends. They perfect to me. A bond that can never be broken,’ she wrote, also in April.
Other posts alluded to challenges.
‘Being your mom was never easy but you can agree it was worth it. Always love you to the moon,’ she wrote on June 16.
The discovery of the children in Baltimore city comes just weeks after two other children — Joshlyn Johnson, 7, and her brother Larry O’Neil III, 5 — were found decomposing in their aunt’s car during a July 28 traffic stop in Baltimore County. The children’s aunt, Nicole Michelle Johnson was charged with with neglect; failure to report the death; disposal of bodies and child abuse that resulted in the death of the two children.
It remained unclear what charges Hall would face as a community tried to understand what led to a mother allegedly killing her own two children?
