Georgia Teacher Faces Charges Over Murder Of Two Children

A Dekalb County, Georgia teacher has been charged with four counts of murder in the deaths of two African-American children, Atlanta’s WSB-TV reported.

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Michael De’Sean White, 26, was accused of killing an 11-year-old girl and her 15-year-old brother in 2016. White, a fifth-grade teacher at Toney Elementary School in DeKalb County, was arrested at the school Friday by the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Task Force.

White is allegedly a member of the Crips criminal street gang, documents obtained by WSB-TV’s investigative reporter Mark Winne claimed. A known member of the Crips “advised that ‘Mike’, referring to Michael White, was one of the ‘shooters’ responsible for the shooting death of Daveon and Tatiyana Coates,” the document said.

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The Coates siblings were tragically killed in a gang-related home invasion in Clayton County in October 2016, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. A 911 caller alerted authorities that someone entered the home and shots had been fired.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation forensic artist Kelly Lawson‘s sketch of a man at the murder scene pushed Clayton County police investigators to build a case against White, Clayton County Police Chief Kevin Roberts said to WSB-TV.

Nicole Fegan, White’s lawyer, denied the charges.

White has been removed from Toney Elementary School until an investigation is complete, district officials said. He had taught fifth grade at Toney since August and started as a district paraprofessional last March.

Police also identified a second suspect, Jamon M. Bynum, on Wednesday. Bynum was also charged in the gang-related homicides.

“His [Bynum’s] role is not yet completely defined, but we can confirm he was present when the homicides took place,” Roberts said. “We hope to bring some solace and resolve to that family.”

An indictment has charged several people with murder and related offenses in the homicides of the two children, District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson confirmed. A news conference will be held on Thursday with new information in the case, Roberts said.

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