DETROIT – The mother accused of killing her 9-year-old son and burying him in a shallow grave behind a home in Detroit had a competency review hearing this week.
Brandee Katrice Pierce, 41, has been charged with first-degree murder, felony murder, first-degree child abuse, tampering with evidence and concealing the death of an individual. She allegedly smothered her son, Zemar King, to death, tied him up and buried him in a Detroit yard.
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Previous coverage: Woman accused of killing, burying son behind Detroit home referred for competency evaluation
Mom found ‘incompetent but restorable’
At her competency review hearing on Monday, June 9, the court entered an order finding Pierce “incompetent but restorable,” according to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. A review date has been scheduled for Aug. 8.
Boy found dead in January 2025
On Jan. 6, 2025, the landlord of a home in the 19700 block of Woodingham Drive was preparing the property for a new tenant when he discovered the child’s body.
He called the police department, and when officers arrived, they found a human foot sticking out of the frozen ground.
The boy’s cause of death was ruled to be smothering and neck compression, according to prosecutors.
Related: Prosecutors say Detroit child told CPS his mother ‘wants to kill him’ months before he was murdered
Mom arrested in Georgia after fleeing Michigan
Prosecutors believe that Pierce killed Zemar on Oct. 24, 2024. On Nov. 6, she left her rental home in Detroit and took her 3-year-old son to Georgia.
On Dec. 20, police in Atlanta, Georgia, were investigating Pierce for an unrelated matter involving her 3-year-old son and contacted Detroit police.
Pierce was extradited to Michigan.
She was arraigned on Feb. 28 via Zoom. Her preliminary examination was scheduled for March 13, but before it began, prosecutors said that it would be rescheduled after the defense asked for the mother to be referred for a competency evaluation.
The 3-year-old boy is currently in foster care.