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Mother charged with lying about death of her 8-month-old son

Posted at 2:26 PM, Mar 01, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-01 14:26:58-05
Autumn Atchley - Berrien Co.

Autumn Atchley – Berrien Co.

COLOMA, Mich. – A Hartford woman has been charged with a felony after the death of her eight month old child in February.

Autumn Atchley, 31, is being charged with Accessory After the Fact, according to the Berrien County Prosecutor’s Office.

Carter Donovan died on February 19.  He was in the care of Brandon Beshires, 30, who has been previously charged with First Degree Murder, Felony-Murder and First Degree Child Abuse in relation to the death of Donovan.

Brandon Beshires, courtesy Berrien County Sheriff's Department

Brandon Beshires, courtesy Berrien County Sheriff’s Department

Investigators say that Beshires was caring for Donovan while Atchley was at a doctor’s appointment in Coloma.  While caring for the boy, Beshires allegedly caused the child’s head to be hit with such force that it killed him.  When Atchley returned, she and Beshires drove Donovan to the hospital in St. Joseph where he was pronounced dead.

Investigators say that Atchley gave police false information about Beshires’ identity and lied about who had been taking care of Donovan.  Investigators say that Atchley continued to give false information for several hours after Donovan died.

Atchley was arraigned Tuesday and held on $50,000 bond.  Beshires is in custody on $1 million bond.