Two boys have been charged in the May drowning death of 8-year-old Noah Bush in Jesup, Georgia.
WSBTV reports, citing lawyers, that an unnamed 11-year-old admitted to taking Bush down to a “borrow pit” full of water and held his head under the water while he drowned. The boy was charged and sentenced to two years in a detention facility.
“This 11-year-old admitted under oath he, in fact, led Noah Bush down to the clay pits, pushed him into the water and ultimately held his head under the water until he drowned,” family attorney Francys Johnson told WSBTV.
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The outlet reports that another unnamed boy, aged 10, received a two-year sentence of confinement for his role in concealing the death and for trespassing. Both boys received the maximum sentences for juveniles and were sentenced in July.
“My baby was 8 years old with a full life ahead of him,” Bush’s mother, Demetrice Bush, told WJCL. “And two years is what the state of Georgia calls justice for an entire life that’s lost.” Bush added in a GoFundMe that her son was “a vibrant young man, full of life not yet lived.”
The family maintains that the crime was racially motivated and is working with lawyers from Davis Bozeman Johnson Law to keep the case moving forward.
“This is not the end,” said attorney Mawuli Mel Davis told WJCL. “The adults who were involved, who helped mislead this family, must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law as well.”
Bush initially went missing on May 15 before his body was found in the borrow pits the next day. Police at the time did not suspect foul play.
A GoFundMe, started by Bush’s teacher Gracie Yoder, raised over $14,500 to give to the family for funeral and other expenses.
