A Detroit woman accused of killing her 9-year-old son and burying his body in a shallow grave behind their home will stand trial.
Brandee Katrice Pierce has been bound over to circuit court on five felony charges, including First-Degree Murder, Felony Murder, First-Degree Child Abuse, Tampering with Evidence, and Concealing the Death of an Individual, in connection with the death of her son Zemar King III.
Investigators say construction workers discovered the boy’s remains on Jan. 6, 2025, behind a rental home on Woodingham Drive in Detroit. His hands and feet were bound, and an autopsy determined he died from neck compression and smothering.
Prosecutors allege Pierce killed Zemar in October 2024, then bought a shovel and buried him behind the garage before moving with her 3-year-old son to Brookhaven, Georgia, two weeks later. She was located by Georgia police in December 2024 during an unrelated investigation involving her younger child.
Pierce was charged earlier in 2025, and during a competency hearing in June was found incompetent but restorable. She waived her preliminary exam Tuesday in 36th District Court before Judge Shawn Jacque, allowing the case to move forward without testimony.
Pierce’s arraignment in Wayne County Circuit Court is scheduled for November 12, 2025.
