Drugged Up I.n.ce$t Couple Claim to Be GREAT Parents

If you only had 2 weeks on this earth, what would you want that to look like? Would you want to be surrounded by your loved ones, or would you rather go out and see the world? The little girl at the center of our story didn’t get a choice in the matter. She was a newborn. Her two weeks on this earth were nothing more than a cruel joke.

Today’s story is just as confusing as it is senseless and vile, and it will leave you with a lot of questions. This is the story of Kalia McNab.

In September of 2017, first cousins 28-year-old Christopher Michael McNab and 25-year-old Courtney Marie Bell lived with their 2-year-old daughter, Clarissa, in a trailer in the Eagle Point Mobile Home community in Covington, Georgia, near Henderson Mill Road and Highway 36.

And yes, you heard all of that correctly. These are first cousins living as a couple who have reproduced. And if you’re wondering, no, this is not a crime in Georgia. Marriage or relationships between first cousins is actually legal in more places than you would expect.

Courtney was born on March 29th, 1993, and she was raised primarily by her father, Tim Bell, and her grandparents. She didn’t have a relationship with her mother, and she actually didn’t know who she was until one fateful day when she was 12 years old. Courtney was scrounging through her father’s car looking for cigarettes and came across a hospital bracelet that had her birthday listed, as well as the name Pamela Hamby.

Pamela Hamby had been introduced to Courtney in the past as a family friend, but the 12-year-old put two and two together and figured out that she was actually her biological mother. I’m sure, as you can guess, Pamela wasn’t much of a mom. She actually didn’t take care of any of her seven kids. And when Courtney attempted to salvage some sort of relationship with her, Pamela wasn’t interested.

We have quite a bit to unpack here. Why is a 12-year-old scrounging around for cigarettes in her dad’s car? And why was Pamela’s hospital bracelet stashed in the car for 12 years? Does Tim even clean his car out?

Now, in 2013, Pamela did one of the worst things that she probably could have done. She introduced her 20-year-old daughter to her biological brother’s son, Christopher McNab. The two had a lot in common, actually. They both loved using drugs, both grew up without their mothers, and shared the same bloodline, so it would only make sense that they would want to become a couple, obviously.

Now, I’m not going to pass judgment on their bizarre cousin relationship. To each his own, right? But it’s not like Christopher was a stand-up guy, either. In fact, he was described as the “kid from hell,” and his misbehavior spanned back to when he was just eight years old.

So, with that in mind, let’s talk a little bit about Christopher. He was born on March 23rd, 1990. By the time he was 14 years old, he had already racked up a criminal record that included fighting, stealing, destruction of property, and running away from home. In fact, Christopher’s father and stepmother called the cops on him multiple times. His parents even had to keep a deadbolt on their bedroom door in order to keep Christopher out because he’d just steal their stuff. And it didn’t actually even help. He reportedly stole around $300 in cash and $7,000 in jewelry from his parents’ bedroom and used it to get hotel rooms to do drugs in.

At the age of 17, he was arrested for theft, criminal trespass, larceny, criminal damage to property, and auto theft. You see, Christopher kept breaking into a metal shop called Woods Fabrication, located at 2759 Old State Highway 113 in Taylorsville, Georgia. While there, he stole a 2006 Ford F-350 and smashed it through a locked gate in order to take it.

You’d think Christopher wouldn’t be dumb enough to hit the same place up twice, right? Well, nearly two weeks later, he was arrested again after police were called by a security guard who claimed that Christopher tried to run him over while he was in the process of stealing a 1989 Ford truck and used it to break through a fence. Nine days later, police were called back to the fabrication shop where the owner reported the theft of a 1964 Buick Skylark that Christopher used to once again crash through the facility’s gate. It is suspected that Christopher did this five times in total.

After his misadventures with Grand Theft Auto, Christopher stole a PlayStation and a car from a house he was hanging out at. He was yet again arrested and spent 2 years in prison. Now, you would think after doing real time in prison, Christopher would have gotten his life together, right? Well, 5 weeks after being released, he stole his father’s car and led police on a high-speed chase that ended after he hit a curb and blew out one of the tires. Then he chose to flee on foot. He was located at around 2:00 in the morning and arrested yet again.

So, now that we have a little bit more background on our couple, we can continue with their story. Courtney and Christopher claimed that they were married, although this wasn’t actually the case. Chris’s family was actually really embarrassed about their relationship, with his father being the most vocal about it.

In 2015, Courtney became pregnant with the couple’s first daughter, Clarissa, after her IUD allegedly fell out. She’d been pregnant once prior with another man’s baby, which turned out to be a stillborn. Chris was not around for the first year and a half of Clarissa’s life because he was back in jail yet again. But when he got out, he claimed the two had an instant bond.

Christopher, Courtney, and Clarissa were initially living with Courtney’s father, Tim Bell, but eventually needed more space and moved into a trailer in the Eagle Point Mobile Home community in Covington, Georgia. But this wasn’t a family-friendly trailer park full of kids or retirees. Rather, it housed a lot of criminals—some pretty bad ones, in fact.

The trailer park used to be called the Pine Valley Mobile Home Park. And on August 16th, 2000, a man by the name of William David Riley Sr. lit his rented trailer on fire with his three kids—6-year-old Ashley, 5-year-old William, and 3-year-old Samantha—inside. He was sentenced to death on March 14th, 2003.

Eagle Point was also a known location by the police for domestic calls. Some of those calls were dispatched to the McNab-Bell trailer because, by now, Christopher started putting his hands on Courtney. Family and friends have been quoted as saying that Courtney always had bruises all over her. And on one occasion, Christopher started busting the windows in the trailer in a fit of rage.

911 Operator: County 911. What’s the address of the emergency? Caller: You need to send the police down here ’cause lot 31 is busting windows out of the trailer. 911 Operator: Who was busting the windows out? Caller: Uh, the people at lot 31, and he started busting windows out and started cussing me.

But this didn’t stop Courtney and Christopher from having another kid together. On September 23rd, 2017, Courtney gave birth to a little girl who she named Kalia Claire Noela McNab. Kalia remained in the hospital for 4 days as she was a month premature, needed antibiotics, and only weighed 5 lbs.

After her release, Kalia and Clarissa stayed for several days with Courtney’s cousin, Megan Sorrel. However, Courtney never came to pick her kids back up. When the burden of caring for her cousin’s kids, as well as her own four, became unsustainable for Megan, Courtney’s father, Tim Bell, picked up the girls and took them into his home. He wasn’t happy because he knew that his daughter was on a bender. That “Breaking Bad” substance had pretty much taken over their lives.

But there was an incident the same day regarding a car that prompted a 911 call from Courtney. You see, Tim had bought a PT Cruiser that he allowed Courtney to use to get around, and he had prepaid about $600 worth of insurance for her. After Courtney essentially abandoned her 2-year-old and a newborn with her cousin, he and his parents repossessed the car with the kids in tow. This caused Christopher to fly into a rage and caused both Courtney and Tim to make separate calls to the police.

911 Operator: Newton County 911. What’s the address of your emergency? Courtney: Um, my dad and them came to my house. My dad and my grandparents came to my house. Um, they had my little girl in the car. I took my little girl. Um, they went to my cousin’s house where my kids were, um, and uh, took my newborn that I just had, and they took my car. 911 Operator: Why did they do that? Courtney: Uh, they said that they were taking my kids.

911 Operator: Newton County 911. What is your emergency? Tim: Yes, ma’am. Can you send the police out to my house at 65 Len Drive, Covington, Georgia, 30014? 911 Operator: Yes, 65 Len Drive. What’s going on? Tim: Yes, ma’am. It’s concerning my grandchildren. Uh, she left her kids. They abandoned both kids last night at my niece’s house. 911 Operator: Uh, the police are going to come out. Yeah, they’re coming out there to you. They’re out there right now at Eagle Point talking to them, and they’re going to come over there and talk to you. Tim: Okay. So, I’ll just wait right here. 911 Operator: Okay. Tim: Okay. Thank you, ma’am.

Tim brought Clarissa and Kalia back to Courtney and Christopher on October 6th after she promised to clean her house up. According to Tim, Kalia was healthy, fed, clean, and had no injuries whatsoever when he left her with her parents. Additionally, Tim noticed Christopher hiding behind a tree upon his arrival. Allegedly, the two did not get along at all.

However, the kids probably should have stayed in their grandfather’s care. That same night, Courtney’s cousin, Craig Weatherford, visited the couple’s trailer in order to use drugs with them. If you’ve been watching our show over the last few weeks, we’ve ended up with an unintentional common theme. I’ll let you take a guess what that might be.

Now, according to Craig, he saw Kalia during the visit and noted that she looked fine and that she was sleeping soundly in a bassinet in the bedroom. Around 5:00 a.m. on October 7th, Courtney went to sleep on a couch in the living room after being up with Kalia much of the night. Now, whether Kalia was really up crying or if Courtney was still up tweaking from the night before is up for debate.

At 5:51 that same morning, Christopher was up and added a new profile picture to his Facebook account. Just a few hours later, at 7:41 a.m., Christopher texted his friend, Shane Kidd, stating that he was “wigging and tripping” in his own words and needed to get out of the house. Shane was another friend that also used drugs at the couple’s trailer and claimed to have used there several times since Kalia had come home from the hospital. According to Shane, “wigging and tripping” meant that Christopher was paranoid from using meth.

An hour after his first text message, Christopher texted Shane again, stating that he could not find Kalia. It should also be noted that between the hours of 10:30 p.m. on October 6th and 9:42 a.m. on October 7th, while Christopher is claiming that he cannot find his baby, he was texting back and forth with a woman he had met on the internet named Courtney Morris via Facebook Messenger. At 9:44 a.m., Christopher tried to call Courtney; however, she did not pick up. It’s been alleged that Christopher often cheated on Courtney Bell, and it was not unusual for her to chase him down and confront the women he’d been stepping out with. I know two Courtneys in one case can be confusing; however, this is the only time during the story that we’re going to be discussing Courtney Morris.

Christopher then joined Courtney, the mother of his children, on the couch and went to sleep for a very short period of time, as just after 10:00 a.m., Clarissa woke Christopher and Courtney after she too discovered that Kalia was missing. Now, mind you, Clarissa is 2 years old. It should also be noted that the couch where Christopher and Courtney were sleeping was near two doors that led outside, and that those were the only ways in and out of the home.

Courtney called her father, her aunt, and her friend Melissa Davis to ask if Kalia was with them. Now, Melissa walked over to the couple’s home a few moments later and saw Christopher standing on the porch. According to Melissa, he repeatedly stated, “They’re going to think I did this.” She told him to calm down, but something didn’t feel quite right. Courtney was calling out for Kalia and told Melissa that she thought maybe her grandparents might have taken her. At 10:39 a.m., Courtney finally called 911 and reported that Kalia was missing. Melissa then saw Christopher leave the home and noted that he was not carrying anything when he left.

911 Operator: County 911. What’s the emergency? Courtney: I just woke up. My daughter woke me up on the couch. Um, I have a 2-year-old and I have a two-week-old, and my two-week-old is not in her sleeper. Her pacifier is on the floor. She’s not in her sleeper. She’s not here. I’ve looked everywhere. I’ve looked under clothes and everything. 911 Operator: What’s your address, ma’am? Courtney: 12145 Highway 36. Lot 31. Yes, Lot 31. 911 Operator: Do you think somebody took her? Courtney: Ma’am, my child said—my 2-year-old says she’s gone, and I’ve looked everywhere in the house, so I don’t know another possibility. 911 Operator: How old is she, ma’am? Courtney: Two weeks old.

Several officers arrived on the scene a few minutes later and met with the mother. She told the officers that Kalia was missing and repeated that she had last seen her at approximately 5:00 in the morning. She also noted that Christopher told her that he received a text from his father at 9:30 a.m. and that at the time, both kids were okay. Courtney stated that a little before 10:30 a.m., Clarissa woke her and Christopher saying that Kalia was gone. She also noted that Christopher had left and walked toward Highway 36 to look for their daughter. Please keep in mind that Kalia is a newborn. She couldn’t have gotten up and walked off on her own, and the fact that Courtney keeps calling out for Kalia is kind of bizarre.

The owner of the mobile home park and officers at the scene noted that there were no signs of forced entry to the home, which included a window near Kalia’s bassinet in the master bedroom. There was also no blood or any other signs of trauma in the bedroom or anywhere else in the home. One officer testified that Courtney was adamant that she did not suspect that anybody would come into the home and take Kalia. A crime scene investigator noted that given the lack of signs of forced entry on the doors and the window of the home, it did not appear to be plausible that somebody had broken in and kidnapped Kalia.

About a half hour after the officers arrived, Christopher approached the home from the direction of Highway 36. Now, it was raining at the time, and according to those on the scene, he was sweaty, wet, muddy, and had green stuff on him that suggested he might be coming out of the woods. His demeanor was described as fidgety, shady, and extremely nervous.

Christopher showed one of the officers where he had been looking in the woods for Kalia, but never explained why he was looking for her there. An officer noted that Christopher had a flashlight, which the father claimed to have been using to find her. However, according to the responding officers, the sun had been up since around 7:40 a.m. that day.

A few minutes later, Investigator Jeff Alexander arrived on the scene and spoke with the parents inside of their trailer, after which he directed a search for Kalia in the wooded area where Christopher told deputies that he had traveled. He noted that he found it very odd that Christopher had gone to search for her there. He also noted that the sheriff’s office would not have focused its search in the woods had officers not learned that Christopher had gone out there.

Another investigator named Wade Freeman, who also assisted in the investigation, learned that there were several theories about where Kalia might be, including that Christopher’s father, Courtney’s grandparents, or a neighbor in the trailer park might have taken Kalia. Now, Investigator Freeman found no indication that any of those leads were viable. Craig Weatherford, who you’ll remember joined the couple in their drug-taking the night prior, denied that he broke into the couple’s home and kidnapped Kalia. Courtney’s father, Tim, denied going to the trailer park on the night of October 6th or the morning of October 7th to take Kalia from the couple, and noted that he would not have done so without calling to get permission first.

Christopher and Courtney were taken to the Newton County Sheriff’s Office for questioning, where Christopher was given Miranda warnings before being interviewed. According to Investigator Alexander, neither Christopher nor Courtney were under arrest at the time, and the purpose of the interviews was to quickly gather information about the timeline of Kalia’s disappearance. Investigator Alexander said at the time that they were considered persons of interest.

In the interview, Christopher talked about some incidents earlier in the week involving the kids and Courtney’s father, Tim, the time that he had spent caring for and feeding Kalia, and also described his relationship with Courtney’s family—which are arguably his family too, being first cousins and all.

Now, Christopher told Investigator Alexander that he fed Kalia between 3:30 and 5:00 a.m. on October 7th and then went to sleep. He said that he woke up at about 9:30 a.m. when his father texted him, and that both girls were asleep in the bedroom at the time. Christopher then went back to sleep but was later awoken by his older daughter, Clarissa, who was crying. He then discovered that Kalia was not in the house. After helping Courtney search for Kalia in the home, he left and started looking for her in the woods.

Christopher then mentioned that a man named Matt Lester might want to retaliate against him. On September 13th, just 10 days prior to Kalia’s birth, Shane Kidd and Matt Lester went to the couple’s trailer to play video games and to do drugs. Matt testified that while he was there, Christopher and another man jumped on him and punched and kicked him. Matt Lester managed to free himself and then ran out of the home. When questioned, Matt testified that he never broke into the couple’s trailer and that he never went there after the day that Christopher attacked him.

Shane Kidd testified that Christopher had no enemies who would have broken into his home and kidnapped his newborn daughter. According to Investigator Alexander, Christopher’s timeline, particularly his statements about Kalia being fine at 9:30 and then missing by 10:30, indicated that it was not a feasible scenario that Matt Lester had come into the home and abducted Kalia. Christopher had told police that he felt somebody had put out a hit on him, but Investigator Alexander found it illogical that somebody would retaliate against a person’s newborn when that person was asleep on a couch nearby. Additionally, Matt Lester was in jail at this time. And it should also be noted he recently passed away after stealing a truck and crashing it while out on parole.

Investigator Alexander also noted that Tim Bell was ruled out as a suspect right away, and there was no evidence that Christopher or Courtney had significant assets that would have made them a target for a ransom demand. Investigator Alexander testified that Christopher’s statements about the amount of time he had spent with Kalia since her birth could not be reconciled with other information that he had received about how little the father had seen his own daughter and how much time Kalia had spent with other family members. During the interview, Christopher did not ask any questions about the efforts being made to locate his daughter.

Both Christopher and Courtney were not charged and were escorted home by deputies after the interviews were concluded. The search for Kalia continued that afternoon and evening. A perimeter was set up for the wooded area around the trailer park, and K-9 units were brought out to the scene. The dogs were allowed to sniff some of Kalia’s clothing and then attempted to track her through a trail in the woods and across Henderson Mill Road into an area where logging had been taking place. The dogs were not able to locate Kalia in the search. Around 9:00 p.m. that night, the search was suspended for the evening.

On the morning of October 8th, both Christopher and Courtney, as well as Pamela Hamby, prepared to appear on television for a press conference. Now, you’ll recall from earlier that Pamela is Courtney’s biological mother and Christopher’s aunt. During this time, the search for Kalia had resumed.

A neighbor who had joined the search efforts came across a log that was sitting over a hole in the ground that looked unusual and out of place. Under the log, there was a pile of sticks. The neighbor saw a black drawstring, and when she pulled on it, she saw a blue Nike drawstring bag. At that point, the neighbor asked someone with her to alert the police.

Deputy Timothy Dickerson was participating in the search near Henderson Mill Road and he responded to where the bag had been located. It appeared to be wet from the recent rain, but Deputy Dickerson did not think that the bag appeared to have been there very long. Investigator Mickey Kitchens arrived on the scene a few minutes later, and he and Deputy Dickerson opened the bag. They removed several articles of men’s clothing, which were later determined to belong to Christopher McNab.

Deputy Dickerson and Investigator Kitchens then saw the top of an infant’s head and an ear beneath a blanket. Inside of the bag was the body of Kalia McNab. It has been also noted that a stash of drug paraphernalia was located near where poor Kalia was found. You might be wondering how the K-9 unit did not pick up Kalia’s scent when she was found so close to the home. This was due to Kalia’s small size, the fact that she was carried, and the fact that she was wrapped in clothing inside of a bag. All of these factors would have made it harder for a dog to track her scent.

Kim Weatherford, who was Courtney’s aunt and Craig’s mother, learned from her husband that Kalia’s body had been found, and so she called her niece to tell her what had happened. At the time, Courtney was in a vehicle with Christopher, her mother, and two other people. They were returning to the trailer for an interview with the media. After Kim told Courtney that Kalia had been found, Pamela Hamby told Christopher to run. Pamela, who was Courtney’s mom and Christopher’s aunt, later testified that she told Christopher to get out of the car because she worried that people would believe that he killed Kalia.

Christopher stated that he was worried that if Kalia was found near their home, people would think he and Courtney had something to do with it. When the car stopped at a red light, Christopher said, “They are going to think it’s me,” and so, he jumped out of the car. A few minutes later, Courtney, Pam, and the others arrived at the trailer park without Christopher.

An officer asked Courtney if she was missing a backpack. She replied that Christopher had a bag that she had not seen in a couple of days. She described the bag as a Nike drawstring bag that was blue on one side with a red emblem and red on the other side with a blue emblem. She said Christopher kept the bag with him all of the time and carried his clothes in it, but that she had not seen it in a couple of days.

Courtney then advised the officer that when she learned that Kalia had been found, Christopher jumped out of the car and said, “They are going to blame me for it,” and ran away. The officer then issued a lookout for the father. Investigator Alexander, who directed the search for Kalia, and now Christopher, noted that this raised their level of suspicion, as in their words, “Innocent people don’t run.”

Christopher entered a Chevron gas station on Highway 36 later that afternoon. According to cashier Julie Hannah, Christopher looked wet and nasty. He told her that he had gotten out of the car when he learned Kalia had been found and that he had been running because the cops were on his trail. Christopher, who was acting hyperactive, told the cashier that he did not do it. The cashier called 911 and asked a customer to not leave her alone with Christopher. According to the customer, Christopher alleged that he had been in the woods for 2 days.

But this wasn’t the only 911 call placed. In fact, there were three.

Call 1: Caller: 911. Is that a severe emergency? That guy that his baby was found dead is in the Chevron on 36. 911 Operator: Okay. Do you still have eyes on him? Okay. Hold on one second. I know they’re on the way. Is he still—Is he down? Is he running?

Call 2: 911 Operator: Newton County 911. What is your emergency? Caller: Yes. The guy y’all are looking for, he’s in the store right here at um, 36. 911 Operator: We have a deputy that’s in the area. Do you—do you see our deputy? Caller: Yeah, there’s two or three. 911 Operator: Okay. All right. If you’ll just—yeah, just let them check it out. Caller: There he is. There he is. They got him. Yeah.

Call 3: 911 Operator: Newton County 911. What’s the address of the emergency? Caller: Um, uh, Highway 36. Uh, I’m at the uh food—the Chevron Food Mart. The guy that his um, daughter was found or whatever this morning is walking up the road up here. There’s a bunch of people in the gas station right now, and mostly everybody in there saw him. 911 Operator: Yeah, we’ve gotten actually several calls about it. Show me.

An officer responded to the 911 call, found Christopher near the gas station, and arrested him. When he was found, he was soaking wet, had grass and leaves in his clothes, and appeared to have been in a wooded area. Following his arrest, Christopher was again advised of his Miranda rights and interviewed.

In that interview, he said that when Kim Weatherford called Courtney to tell her that Kalia had been found, Kim repeatedly accused him of killing Kalia, and that he had jumped out of the car because he was scared and did not want to go back to the trailer. He also admitted to using drugs the night before Kalia disappeared, but denied that he used his Facebook account after he checked on his daughters at 9:30 in the morning.

The medical examiner performed an autopsy on Kalia the next day. Under a blue blanket, Kalia’s body was wrapped in a gray sleeveless adult t-shirt. The blanket had stains on it that appeared to be blood, and there were leaves and other debris inside the bag in which she had been found, including between her body and the t-shirt.

The medical examiner noted several injuries to Kalia’s face and head, including bruises, multiple fractured bones, an indentation in her skull, and significant brain damage. These injuries were closed head injuries, so that means they would not have resulted in significant blood spatter. Kalia had suffered a cut just below her eye that may have been caused by a sharp object. Kalia also suffered blunt force injuries to her mouth that caused her deciduous teeth to penetrate her gums.

The medical examiner testified that these injuries were likely caused by a huge amount of impact to the head that resulted in all the fractures and the injuries to Kalia’s mouth. The injuries to Kalia’s cheek and mouth may have resulted in the bleeding observed on the blanket. For those of you who aren’t aware, deciduous teeth are your baby teeth. Kalia was a newborn baby. Now, all babies are different, but usually, your baby teeth do not start to come out until you’re around 6 months old. This means that Kalia was beaten so badly that her baby teeth, which were still up in her skull, went through her gums and cut up her cheeks. She was only 15 days old.

The medical examiner determined that all of Kalia’s injuries were suffered all at once and that she would have died relatively quickly. She testified that the injuries might have been caused by a series of blows with an object or a crushing injury, such as stomping her head against a hard surface or a large object falling on her head. The medical examiner discounted the possibility that a television or another heavy object would have fallen on Kalia while she was asleep on the bed. She noted that the softness of the bed would have cushioned Kalia’s head against the blow of the falling object and that these types of injuries that she suffered were more common when a crushing blow caused the head to be pressed firmly against a hard surface. She also testified that the presence of leaves around Kalia’s body might indicate that she was wrapped in the shirt while she was in the wooded area.

The cause of Kalia’s death was blunt impact injury to the head, and the manner of death was homicide. Investigator Alexander, who had been present at the autopsy, testified that based on his experience, Kalia’s death was definitely not accidental.

On Wednesday, October 11th, 2017, Christopher was charged with malice homicide, felony homicide, aggravated battery, and concealing a death. According to his arrest warrants, Christopher “did strike the victim with an unknown object. This action did cause the victim’s skull to be seriously disfigured and damaged beyond repair.”

On December 13th, 2017, Christopher asked to speak with Investigator Alexander. He was brought to an interview room and again read his Miranda rights. In that interview, he suggested that Shane Kidd killed Kalia. He also attributed Kalia’s death to his use of meth and the people he allowed in his home to use drugs. In this same interview, he also admitted that he hit Courtney a week or two before Kalia was born, which resulted in a black eye.

Investigator Alexander followed up on other tips and rumors that were circulating in the community about the crime, including that Shane Kidd had killed Kalia. However, he found no truth to any of those rumors, and he had not found anyone with a motive to abduct or kill baby Kalia.

Soon, Courtney too was arrested for her role in Kalia’s death on January 1st, 2018. Although the courts believed that Christopher was indeed the person responsible for Kalia’s death, Courtney was negligent in causing it due to her rampant substance use and that her actions contributed to the death of her newborn daughter.

District Attorney Leila Zison stated the following with regards to Kalia: “She was a gift to Courtney Bell and Christopher McNab. That child was doomed the moment they left that hospital. They took pure innocence and brought that child into a life of hell.” And with regards to Christopher, she went on to state: “All this fake crying and fake tears he did during the interviews about how much he loved his children and that he did it in the courtroom are a joke.”

Christopher was found guilty of malice homicide, felony homicide, homicide in the second degree, aggravated battery, cruelty to a minor in the first degree, cruelty to a minor in the second degree, and concealing the death of another person. He’s currently being held at the Hays State Prison serving life without the possibility of parole. After the sentence was delivered, Christopher responded, “I would never do this. I’m innocent.”

Judge: You claim you’re innocent. So, you tell me what sentence the man or woman that you claim did this should receive. Christopher: If you ever find out who did this to them, they deserve to be under the jail. Judge: Okay. So, they ought to get the maximum sentence? Christopher: Most definitely. Judge: Okay. On the crime of malice murder, I sentence you to life in confinement without parole. On concealing the death of another, I sentence you to 10 years in confinement, consecutive or after count one. Do you understand each of your sentences? Christopher: Yes, sir.

Courtney was convicted of second-degree homicide, second-degree cruelty to a minor, and contributing to the dependency of a minor. At sentencing, she acknowledged that her use of substances was a sickness, and stated, “I try to be a good mama. I love my babies.” However, her statement was countered by Judge John Ott.

Judge John Ott: And you chose methamphetamine and marijuana over a baby? Courtney: It’s a sickness, but I tried to be a good mama. I love my babies. Judge John Ott: The problem, Miss Bell, is that like most criminals, you have this version of what a good mama is that is so far from the norm that, you know, you go anywhere in this county, talk to anybody who’s watching this and say, “Is it a good mama who doesn’t even care about her 14-day-old baby, put them with a cousin?” I’ve known of instances where mamas won’t even let people around the child in the first couple of weeks of a child’s life for fear that the child’s immune system hadn’t been built up, and they don’t want germs brought into the child. They go to that extent. You went just the exact opposite direction, and there’s just no excuse for that… On count one, I’m going to sentence you to 30 years with the first 15 years to be served in confinement in the state penitentiary, the remaining time on probation. On count three, I’m going to sentence you to 10 years in confinement to run at the same time as count one. Now, do you understand your two sentences? Let the record reflect she’s nodding her head slightly. Yes.

So, justice is served now, right? Depends on who you ask. The Court of Appeals of Georgia overturned Courtney Bell’s homicide convictions, reasoning that the evidence was insufficient for a jury to find her guilty of second-degree homicide and second-degree cruelty to a minor. The three-judge panel, however, upheld Courtney’s conviction on the felony charge of contributing to the dependency of a minor. She’s currently being held at the Pulaski State Prison, which lists her maximum possible release date as January 5th, 2033. She is eligible for parole.

Courtney currently has a profile listed on a prison singles site called cagedladies.com. Her ad reads as follows:

“Hey there, my name is Courtney Bell. I’m 29 years old, 5’5″, and 180 lbs with long hair down to my waist and beautiful blue eyes. I’m a down-to-earth, lovable, spur-of-the-moment type of woman who’s also open to all genders and enjoy surprises to keep things on the edge. I’ve been in prison for 5 years now, but was recently granted an appeal. So, I’m hopeful I’ll be given an early release date soon so I can return home and start living my life again, but with more intention. In the meantime, I’m in search of that special someone who’d like to become a friend and companion to me while I finish out these trying times. And hopefully, we can bring each other some happiness and excitement along the way. I’m definitely in search of comfort and understanding from someone compassionate enough towards my situation and eager to pursue the possibilities of the future that’s ahead, but not known yet.”

So, what do you think about all this? Like many things in this case, there’s a ton to unpack and so many unanswered questions. There are a couple of theories out there in the true crime community about Courtney, including that she had full knowledge about what Christopher was going to do to Kalia, and even a theory that she set Christopher up. Do you feel she’s fully responsible for the circumstances surrounding her daughter’s death?

It should be noted that Courtney is a battered woman. That is a fact. You can see that from the police body cam footage; she’s all bruised up. Also, there were multiple reports of Christopher attacking her, and he readily admits to having done so multiple times during his court hearing. Some folks have commented that a drug treatment center would be a better place for Courtney to get sober and learn the skills necessary to make her a more productive member of society when she’s released in 2033.

Do you agree with this, or do you think Courtney was tired of being beaten, cheated on, and set Christopher up? Let us know in the comments section down below.