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Mom charged with murder weeks after baby found dead in Charlotte cemetery, police say

A woman whose baby was found dead in a Charlotte cemetery was charged with murder in the infant’s death, police said late Friday.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police found 6-month-old Chi-Liam Cody Brown-Erickson dead in Sharon Memorial Park on Monroe Road in southeast Charlotte at about 4 a.m. Feb. 22, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.

Hours before the baby was found, Matthews police sent an Amber Alert for Chi-Liam, saying he’d last been seen with his mother at their home in the 1800 block Gander Cove Lane in Matthews.

Police said they found the baby after his mother, 30-year-old Tamara Jernel Brown, was arrested on unrelated charges of common law robbery and assault on a government official the night before. Brown refused to tell police where her son was, police said at the time.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said officers charged Brown on Friday after identifying her as a suspect in Chi-Liam’s death and obtaining a warrant for her arrest.

CMPD homicide detectives interviewed Brown before transferring her to the custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office.

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Joe Marusak
The Charlotte Observer
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
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