SOUTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — UPDATE: Michael Wash and Lasherae Davis waived their first appearance on July 2. They are being held with out bond. Their next court appearance will be July 15.
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A father and his live-in girlfriend are facing several charges in connection with the presumed death of his 7-year-old daughter.
Michael Wash told police his oldest child, Kamaire Wash, disappeared between Wednesday night and Thursday morning. He said he and his girlfriend, Lasherae Davis, put her to bed on Wednesday, but when they woke up, the door to their apartment was open and she was gone. %
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“I found out when her father called me and told me our daughter is missing. The way he said it is, ‘Our daughter’s missing,’” Kamaire’s mom, Kashira Pettigrew, said.
Pettigrew, who lives in Illinois, spoke with Channel 2’s Liz Artz by phone Friday.
“I want to know what happened to my baby. Why is no one telling me anything and what’s going on?” she said.
Pettigrew says she was co-parenting with Michael Wash, who has since had three other children with Davis.
“Nothing happened to those babies, but for some reason my baby, my baby, she’s missing. It just doesn’t add up to me. All I want is justice,” she said.
Police didn’t think his story added up either. In less than 24 hours, their missing person’s case became a homicide investigation.
East Point police quickly joined up with Bartow County deputies who were investigating a little girl's body found in Allatoona Lake by two fisherman on Wednesday.
Four agencies in two states are working on the case, including police in Wisconsin, who are collecting DNA from Pettigrew to compare to that body.
“Just to know that could be my little girl in that lake,” Pettigrew said. “Justice needs to be served by any means necessary.” %
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Friday afternoon, police charged Wash with aggravated assault, two counts of cruelty to children in the first degree, cruelty to children in the third degree, giving false statements and concealing the death of another. Davis is charged with party to the crime of aggravated assault, two counts of party to the crime of cruelty to children in the first degree, party to the crime of cruelty to children in the third degree, giving false statements and concealing the death of another.
They were able to bring the charged forward because of statements made by the couple, according to investigators.
The couple has not been charged with murder, but police say as they continue to connect the dots, more charges could come.