8-year-old’s death roils South Georgia community

Demetrice Bush grew increasingly worried as the hours passed without her 8-year-old son returning home from playing outside. Night turned to day, and Noah Bush’s body was discovered the next morning in a water-filled construction pit not far from his house in South Georgia.

Four months later, the rural community of Jesup is still reeling after two boys — ages 10 and 11 — pleaded guilty in his drowning. At his sentencing last month, the older child admitted to pushing Noah into the county-owned “borrow pit” on May 15 and holding his head underwater, according to attorneys for the Bush family.

The case touched off protests, accusations of racism and criticism of local law enforcement who at first believed the drowning was accidental. Now some are calling for harsher sentences for children convicted of violent crimes.

“We all just want to assume that in small-town Georgia, kids are safe,” said Jodi Martin, a Jesup native who regularly attended protests urging law enforcement to look further into Noah’s death. “It was absolutely atrocious what occurred to that sweet little boy.”

Noah’s mother knew there was no way her son drowned accidentally. He didn’t even like swimming at pools or water parks, she said, and wouldn’t have ventured into the water voluntarily.

Noah’s shoes were found near the pit, and authorities initially believed he had taken them off before wandering into the water barefoot.

“He was afraid of water,” Demetrice Bush told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We knew right away that something wasn’t right.”

Others were also skeptical and weeks of protests unfolded urging authorities to investigate.

The children authorities say are responsible were arrested in July. Both were charged with simple battery, criminal trespass and concealing the death of another, family attorney Mawuli Davis said. The 11-year-old also faced an involuntary manslaughter charge for his role in Noah’s death, he said. Because they are juveniles, their names were not released.

Three days later, the older child’s mother, Natalie Hardison, was arrested on charges of giving false statements to police.

Credit: Contributed

Each of the boys received two years in confinement , the maximum amount of time for the charges they faced. But many of the activists who held weekly protests in the small, southeast Georgia city say two years amounts to a “slap on the wrist.” Some are urging local lawmakers to introduce a bill allowing for stiffer penalties for children who commit serious crimes. They hope to call the legislation “Noah’s Law.”

Many in the community, including Noah’s mother, believe race played a part in his drowning and what they say was an initial reluctance by law enforcement to consider foul play in the case. Noah was Black; the two children sentenced in his death are white.

“Racism is still very much alive here,” said Kaylie Cline, a mother of five whose daughter attended elementary school with Noah. “It’s very deep-rooted.”

Cline, who is white, called the local sheriff’s department’s handling of the case “sad and sickening.” She was among a group of activists who didn’t believe Noah’s death was accidental, and took it upon themselves to investigate.

Had it not been for her and others who scoured the crime scene and sleuthed around on social media, Cline said she thinks Noah’s death would have been “swept under the rug.”

“We knew he didn’t just drown himself,” she said.

During the search for Noah, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office said it called in reinforcements from local and state agencies. That included tracking dogs and helicopters from the Georgia State Patrol and Fort Stewart, the nearby U.S. Army base.

Investigators asked for the GBI’s assistance on May 21, five days after Noah’s body was discovered. State agents conducted interviews with the two children, which ultimately led to a confession, sheriff’s office Capt. Ben Robertson said.

The agency defended its handling of the investigation and said there’s plenty of misinformation circling online about the case.

“We did all we could do,” Robertson said. “We searched for the little boy, called out dogs, called helicopters. Even the deputies that found him shed their gear and walked through the water looking for him.”

The sheriff’s office said that initially there wasn’t enough evidence to suspect foul play in Noah’s drowning. But they interviewed the people involved, followed up on leads and ultimately filed charges in the case.

“The case was investigated, people were brought to court and it’s been adjudicated,” Robertson said. “They got the maximum sentence on the charges we could charge them with. That’s all the law allowed us to do.”

Noah’s mother described her son as a smart kid who loved sports and his family. The second-youngest of six children, he liked basketball, but football was his passion, Demetrice Bush said. He also hoped to become a YouTuber.

Credit: Contributed

“Noah was awesome,” she said. “He was my baby boy … He was sweet, funny, a jokester. If there was a definition of class clown, his picture would have been beside it.”

She said her other children are having a tough time with Noah’s death, especially his older siblings who were helping to raise him. What’s especially hard for her is that Noah had been friends with the younger boy for about two years. He had come over often to play with her son and even joined the Bush family for dinner.

She credits those who rallied alongside her on street corners as she called for a more thorough investigation, saying she isn’t sure anyone would have been charged had it not been for the neighbors who helped her.

“The community has really been a blessing,” Demetrice Bush said. “It was a struggle from the beginning just trying to be believed, just to have somebody listen to me.”

Bush said burying her son was one of the most difficult things she’s ever done.

“But to know that the people that actually caused his death lured him down to the clay pit, pushed him in and held his head underwater — receiving two years is no type of justice,” she said.

Jana Myers, a Jesup mother who took part in the protests, said her community is sharply divided over Noah’s death. Some believe the child’s drowning was racially motivated and that the kids’ sentences weren’t harsh enough. Others believe they made a mistake and deserve a second chance.

“I’ve lost a lot of friends over this,” Myers said. “It’s a big mess down here. I would be lying if I said race weren’t an issue.”

What makes things worse, she said, is that the older child took part in the search for Noah the day after he went missing but didn’t tell anyone what happened until later.

She raised concerns about what she said were the lenient sentences for the two children responsible and questioned what will happen when they’re released in two years.

“It’s not enough time at all,” Myers said of the children’s sentences. “The justice system has failed us.”

Others, including Noah’s mother, said they are waiting to see if any other adults get arrested in the case and what their charges might be.

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