Yolanda Hunter: Mississippi mother and boyfriend charged with capital murder of her 1-year-old son

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JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI: Authorities in Mississippi are searching for a 29-year-old mother and her 33-year-old boyfriend in connection with the killing of the woman’s infant son, who was brutally beaten days before Christmas.

Yolanda Nicole Hunter and her boyfriend, Herman Coleman, who also goes by Herman Gardner, face capital murder charges in the slaying of 1-year-old infant Prodigy Hunter, authorities announced as per Law & Crime.

How did Prodigy Hunter die? 

According to Jackson, Mississippi Police Chief Joseph Wade, officers and emergency medical personnel responded to an “absolutely very disturbing” call about a non-responsive infant at an apartment complex in the 3300 block of Sunset Drive at approximately 10 am on December 21.

The victim, who was later identified as Prodigy, was discovered by first responders there. He was taken to the University of Mississippi Medical Centre, where he died from his injuries.

“This small child had a massive amount of trauma and bruising to the body,” Wade said. “It is very disturbing to me, disheartening to me.” Prodigy died of the bruises and trauma to the body caused by him being “brutally beaten,” he added.

Wade mentioned that the mother and a neighbor who made the call were two people being questioned and that they were also looking for a male acquaintance in connection with the mother.

Yolanda Hunter was initially arrested on December 22 and charged with felony child abuse in connection to her son’s death. She was released on a $10,000 bond.

Coleman, who was first sought for interrogation, has now been accused of capital murder as well. However, he has still not been located by the police.

After an autopsy revealed that Prodigy had died of a homicide, Hunter was charged with capital murder, according to People.

Police 'will not stop' until Prodigy Hunter's killer is held accountable

Those found guilty of capital murder in Mississippi may face the death penalty. Wade claimed that both the police department and the community were shocked by the heinousness of the act.

The police chief also added that Child Protection Services would be involved as other children are living in the house.

“This is very hurtful to me as a police chief. It’s very hurtful to us as a community and as a city when this type of violence happens, especially to a 1-year-old infant child,” he said.

He further declared, “It is unacceptable, and we will not stop until whomever committed this act is held accountable here in the city of Jackson.”

He added, “This is not acceptable. When I talked to the officers on the scene, the officer couldn’t even look me in the face as he described what this child looked like. It is very traumatizing when you see stuff like that in our city, and I had to come on camera to talk about this.”

Additionally, at the time of writing, Hunter and Coleman have been on the run for about two weeks.