DETROIT – The mother accused of murdering her 9-year-old son and burying him in a shallow grave behind a Detroit home was bound over to circuit court on Tuesday.
Brandee Katrice Pierce was charged with first-degree murder, felony murder, first-degree child abuse, tampering with evidence and concealing the death of an individual after she allegedly smothered her son, Zemar King, to death, tied him up and buried him in the backyard of the home she rented in Detroit.
On Tuesday, Nov. 4, Pierce appeared before 36th District Court Judge Shawn Jacque for a preliminary examination, where she waived her right to have the hearing.
By waiving that right, the prosecution did not have to provide evidence and testimony to establish probable cause that a crime was committed and that Pierce had committed the crime.
Pierce was bound over to circuit court on all charges.
Her arraignment in the higher court is scheduled for Nov. 12, 2025.
You can watch the Nov. 4, 2025, hearing in the video at the top of this article. Here’s background information on the case:
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.
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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 initially 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.