GA Woman Charged In Toddler's Killing Faces Death Penalty: Report

OAKWOOD, GA — Prosecutors in Hall County are seeking the death penalty against a woman accused of killing a 4-year-old girl whose remains were found in her car trunk, media reports say.

The Hall County District Attorney's Office is seeking the death sentence against Jessica Motes, a 36-year-old woman who is facing malice murder in connection with the death of 4-year-old Autumn Fox, WAGA-TV reported Thursday. Prosecutors filed their intent to seek the death penalty Wednesday, two days after Motes reportedly rejected a plea deal for life in prison without parole.

Fox's official cause of death has not been revealed, but WAGA-TV reported her death was caused "through blunt force trauma" and exposure to fentanyl, methamphetamine and xylazine. Fox also reportedly had a broken arm and suffered multiple "pattern injuries."

The young girl's remains were found on Oct. 26, 2025, in the trunk of Motes' Nissan sedan, past media reports say, citing a previous arrest warrant.

Motes, who was already in jail on a charge of concealing death of another person, additionally faces charges of felony murder, aggravated battery and first-degree cruelty to children, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and jail records.

"While the investigation is still active and ongoing, the evidence gathered during the joint investigation with Oakwood (Police Department) and Hall County Sheriff’s Office has led to the charges against Motes," authorities said in a past news release.

The day of her arrest, Motes was accused of driving into the parking lot of a store plaza and telling her father, “I think she is dead,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WXIA-TV previously reported.

Her father then drove her away from the parking lot before they encountered law enforcement, reports say. The remains were reportedly then found in Motes' car trunk.

Authorities have not revealed the child's cause of death or the relation between Motes and the child.

The news came on the same day Gwinnett County prosecutors announced they are seeking the death penalty against a 36-year-old Decatur man accused of shooting and killing a police officer responding to a fraud call. A second officer was injured in the shooting, police said.

The death sentence has been carried out via lethal injection since 2001 at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson. Before then, the state prison system utilized electrocution, according to records from the Georgia Department of Corrections.

There were 36 prisoners on death row as of Oct. 1, 2025, in Georgia, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Georgia has executed 498 people since 1924. The last person to be executed was 59-year-old Willie James Pye on March 20, 2024.

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