What did Breyanla Cooper do? Georgia mom sentenced to life in prison over 19-month-old son's murder

Breyanla Cooper, a 29-year-old has pleaded guilty to killing her toddler son, Faheem Cooper in 2021. Cooper pleaded guilty on Thursday to all charges in a courtroom in Cobb County. Firefighters found the remains of the toddler on July 1, 2021, in the Chattahoochee River. Breyanla Cooper was initially charged with one count of concealing the death of another.

Trigger warning: This article mentions the death and alleged murder of a child. Discretion is advised.

The 29-year-old was given a life sentence in connection to the 2021 murder. Police said that Breyanla wasn't cooperative with the police when she was arrested. The arrest warrant noted that the body of the toddler was kept in the muddy areas of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area on June 26, 2021.

During the investigation into the toddler's death, Beyanla told the police that her son was abducted by a man because she owed him some money. She also said that she was too scared to report the abduction to the authorities.

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Breyanla Cooper pleaded guilty to all the charges related to the murder of her toddler in 2021

As mentioned earlier, firefighters found the remains of the toddler on July 1, 2021, and eventually arrested his mother, Breyanla Cooper. According to the indictment records, the toddler had been asphyxiated before his body was allegedly dumped in the river.

Apart from being uncooperative with the police, the 29-year-old also gave the police false information about the 19-month-old's whereabouts. As mentioned earlier, she made up a story of a phantom kidnapper who allegedly abducted her child, as she owed him money. Breyanla Cooper went on to provide false descriptions of the kidnapper to the cops and misled them in the investigation.

Authorities checked and investigated the case, and found no evidence of Faheem being kidnapped. Breyanla’s mother spoke to detectives and revealed that she had last seen her grandson on June 26, 2021, and also described the car that Breyanla drove.

Police obtained the GPS data of the vehicle and discovered that she was near the Chattahoochee River for over two hours between 5:57 and 8:08 pm local time. This happened the same day Faheem was last seen alive.

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Authorities described Breyanla’s actions as "unspeakable and unfathomable"

As part of their investigation, police also looked into Cooper's cell phone data and found that she had searched for foster care along with the river's name. Her older child said that Breyanla told them, that the family's "time with Faheem was done."

Cobb District Attorney Flynn D. Broady Jr. said that it was "unimaginable" that someone would take the life of a child, least of all the child's mother.

“We are committed to obtaining justice for all victims. We will hold all who are responsible accountable,” the District Attorney added.

Breyanla Cooper initially pleaded not guilty to the charges before changing her plea to guilty on Thursday. Senior Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Green said that it was "unfathomable" that a human could do something like this to a baby. She added that it was "unspeakable" that a mother would do such a thing to her "own flesh and blood."

Superior Court Judge Kellie S. Hill stated:

“I cannot imagine how painful this has got to be for the family. There’s just nothing the court can say or do to make this any better for anybody.”

Breyanla Cooper has been sentenced to one count of malice murder, one count of aggravated assault, and one count of concealing the death of another.