SHEILA A. MATHEWS :::
Nakia Cloud, the mother of Zychion Damal Montgomery, a four-month-old baby who died in his father’s home early last Saturday morning, has now been charged with murder.
Cloud and Zachary Montgomery, Zychion’s father, were initially charged with second degree cruelty to children, a felony. Those charges were upgraded after information was obtained from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab, where Zychion’s body was sent for autopsy.
Griffin Police Department Officer Willie Deese said Cloud initially reported that Zychion was co-sleeping with his parents for approximately four hours before she awoke and discovered him “cool and unresponsive.”
Deese said Zychion was “motionless and unresponsive” on the sofa when he arrived at the 111 W. Quilly St. residence.
Deese and emergency medical personnel performed CPR, but were unable to resuscitate Zychion.
An arrest warrant charging Cloud with murder cites GBI autopsy findings including past and present brain bleeds, indentations on his head and a distinctive patterned print on his legs, and also allege drugs and alcohol contributed to Zychion’s death.
“…the accused (Cloud) did bring her child Zychion Montgomery a four-month-old infant child to his father’s house, where the accused and her boyfriend Zachary Montgomery left the baby inside of a bedroom with the door opened so that they could watch the child as they smoked marijuana and drank Hennessey alcohol,” said GPD Investigator Anadia Ruiz.
Authorities say Cloud demonstrated and repeatedly provided the same statement describing how Zychion co-slept with his father and her, and said he was discovered deceased in the bed.
Ruiz said that after reviewing crime scene photos, the execution of a second search warrant at Zachary Montgomery’s residence and examining items in the bedroom, investigators concluded there were no items on the bed that could have caused the indentations on Zychion’s head or the distinct patterned print on his legs.
“It was concluded that the carpet was the only thing that could have left the indentations on the child (sic) leg,” Ruiz said.
In her arrest warrant, Ruiz also alleged that Cloud admitted her initial statement was untrue.
“The accused (Cloud) was called in for another interview and she was advised on the GBI findings eventually after denying the child had fell out of bed, the accused did admit to waking up and the child being wedged between the bed and the wall, the accused advised before police arrival she had moved the bed over and advised the baby was in the middle of the bed when he was actually placed on a pillow that was handing off the edge of the bed (sic all),” Ruiz said. “The accused advised she had pushed the bed over to conceal the fact that there was a gap in-between (sic) the wall and the bed and the child had fallen into the crack while she was asleep under the influence of marijuana and alcohol.”
Ruiz said in his second interview, Zachary Montgomery confirmed Cloud’s revised version of events.
Officials say Cloud and Zachary Montgomery both also admitted this was not the first time Zychion had fallen from this bed.
“The accused (Cloud) advised the child had fallen off the bed before in the same manor (sic) and she was able to get him immediately which may have been the cause of the previous brain bleed,” Ruiz said.
Cloud is charged with murder, cruelty to children, tampering with evidence and false statements and writings.
Zachary Montgomery is charged with cruelty to children, tampering with evidence and false statements and writings.
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