On Friday June 1st Dothan Police Investigators received information from Hall County Sheriffs Department in Hall County GA in reference to a possible infant death. The information reported was that Carlton James Mathis, 28, of Gainesville GA and Amanda Gail Oakes, 36, of Murrayville GA were possibly in the Dothan Area and in the company of their 6 month old infant child, Carlton James Oakes. The Hall County Sheriffs Department received information that the infant was possibly deceased inside of an apartment. No other information was available at that time.
Dothan Police Investigators were not able to determine a location in Dothan where Mathis and Oakes were staying, but did receive information that they had left the Dothan area and were possibly in Florida. This information was passed along to Law Enforcement in Florida in an attempt to make contact with Oakes and Mathis and determine the status of the child.
On June 4th Mathis and Oakes were located in an apartment complex in Bronson Florida. The Levy County Sheriffs Department and the Alachua County Sheriffs Department attempted to make contact with Mathis as he was leaving the apartment complex. Mathis produced an handgun and attempted to flee the scene. Mathis was shot 4 times by an Alachua County SWAT Team member. He is currently in stable condition at a Florida hospital in the custody of the Levy County Sheriffs Department and being held for a parole violation warrant out of Gainesville GA.
Based off of the information received from Oakes and Mathis after they were taken into custody, Dothan Police Investigators were able to determine that the couple had been staying at the In Town Suites in the 2800 block of Ross Clark Circle. A search warrant was executed at that location and the body of 6 month old Carlton James Oakes was recovered from the freezer. It appears the infant was in the freezer for approximately 5 or 6 days. Information gathered from witnesses indicates that Oakes and Mathis are the persons responsible for placing the child in the freezer.
The infant was transported to the Alabama Department of Forensic Science in Montgomery AL for autopsy to determine this cause of death which at this time is unknown. It is believed that the child was deceased prior to being placed in the freezer, however foul play is suspected in the child’s death. Carlton James Mathis and Amanda Gail Oakes were both charged with one count of Abuse of a Corpse and each have a bond amount of $15,000.00. They are currently awaiting extradition from Levy County FL to Dothan AL. Murder charges on both Oakes and Mathis are expected to be filed in Houston County Circuit Court after an autopsy is completed.
All Persons are innocent until proven guilty.
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