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Mother will spend at least 8 years in prison after pleading guilty to killing infant son

MATTHEWS, N.C. — A mother from Matthews who admitted killing her infant son will spend at least eight years in prison.

Tamara Brown pleaded guilty Thursday to felony child abuse and involuntary manslaughter in the death of her 6-month-old son, Chi-Liam Brown-Erickson.

The baby’s father had reported him missing in February 2020. Police found the baby’s body in a cemetery several days later and the medical examiner said he died of hypothermia.

Brown told investigators that voices were telling her to get rid of the baby.

As part of her plea deal, the judge ordered Brown to continue mental health treatment after she is released from prison.

The Investigation

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police charged Brown for the murder of her 6-month-old son, who disappeared in February 2020 and triggered a statewide Amber Alert. The baby’s body was then found days later in a Charlotte cemetery.

Tamara Brown was charged in March 2020 with the murder of her baby.

Authorities said Chi-Liam and Brown were first reported missing from the Gander Cove Lane area in Matthews around 10 p.m. on Feb. 20 2020.

Brown may have also faced mental health challenges, according to police.

Police found Brown around 10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, 2020, but her son was not with her. CMPD arrested Brown on Galleria Boulevard in southeast Charlotte for robbery and assaulting government employees.

Brown was accused of taking a man’s iPhone and then assaulting him as well as the two officers who arrested her.

She was last seen with her baby around noon that day in uptown Charlotte, but there had been no sign of him since and police said she was refusing to say where he was.

Matthews police said they worked with CMPD and the Union County Sheriff’s Office Bloodhound Unit in order to use every resource possible to find the baby.

“When it comes to a child, everybody gets, even though it’s not your child, you still get worried,” said one Charlotte resident.

Officers responded to Sharon Memorial Park on Monroe Road just after 4 a.m. Feb. 22, 2020 and found a dead infant, who was later identified as Chi-Liam.

(WATCH: Boyfriend of missing 21-year-old Charlotte woman charged with murder)