Crime & Safety

Murder Indictment: Paulding Father Faces Life Without Parole in Death of Son, 12

Shayaa Forbes is accused of 'repeatedly biting' and beating Eric Forbes in October.

A Paulding County father was indicted Monday for murder in the October death of his 12-year-old son.

WSB-TV reported Shayaa Forbes was indicted by a grand jury on several charges, including three counts of murder in the death of Eric Forbes, 12, on Oct. 11, 2013.

The elder Forbes is facing a life sentence without parole.

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The indictment accuses the father of long-term abuse of Eric, including “repeatedly biting” the boy. Results of a GBI autopsy in October pointed to the suspected abuse, and the boy’s death was ruled a homicide.

On Oct. 11, Paulding sheriff’s deputies responded to a reported drowning at 181 North Springs Drive near Acworth and found Eric unconscious. The father said the boy had drowned. Eric was pronounced dead at Paulding Wellstar Hospital.

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Deputies determined the boy had been abused. Shayaa Forbes was immediately arrested and charged with child cruelty. A murder charge was added less than a week later after preliminary results of the autopsy.

In the indictment, prosecutors said the father also beat his son with a belt, wooden paddle and his fists, according to the TV station’s report.

Forbes has been free on bail since earlier this month.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said Forbes was released on April 17 after posting a $25,000 bond, lowered from $30,000. He had been in the county jail without an indictment since his October arrest. Forbes has been living with his girlfriend in Kennesaw since his release, the newspaper reported.


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