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Man accused of strangling woman, toddler blames his father

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — The attorney for a man accused of strangling his father's girlfriend and her 2-year-old son to death told a judge that the suspect's father is to blame.

Natalie Nation and her son, Cole, were found dead inside the Gwinnett County home where she lived on April 16.

Officers said Nation was dating the homeowner. The homeowner's son, Brandon Williams, has been charged in their deaths.

In court Tuesday, Channel 2's Tony Thomas learned that their bodies were found under a pile of clothes in an upstairs room with a bath towel wrapped around Nations' neck. Police said the toddler was also beaten

Nation had lived in Williams' house for about seven months; her son lived with his grandparents in the same neighborhood and was visiting the night of the murders on Easter Sunday.

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The suspect’s attorney, Robert Greenwald, pointed the finger at Brandon Williams’ father, Austin, who was in an on-again, off-again relationship with Nation. But police said Brandon, 32, was the only other person in the house when the mother and son were killed.

Police said suspect Williams' father, Austin Williams, found the bodies after his son left the house murmuring about needing to burn "it" down.

“At the doorway, Austin looks in and sees a pile of clothes on the floor and he saw Cole’s little hand sticking out from the pile,” Kulnis said.

A Williams family friend recorded a video moments before the murders are suspected to have occurred, showing Williams wearing a Halloween mask and seemingly talking to a TV about sacrifices.

“I already got them, I already sacrificed them,” Williams can be heard saying on the video taken of him.

Police captured Williams a few minutes after the video was taken, down the street from the home.

Friends of Nation and her family said the younger Williams had choked her before.

Greenwald tried to get the whole case thrown out Tuesday morning, insisting “there’s no evidence linking the 32-year-old to the murders,” but the judge didn’t buy that argument and bounced the case over to the Superior Court.

During an interview, Kulnis said she asked Williams if he meant to hurt the 2-year-old, to which he replied “I plead the fifth, I would like to conclude my representation until I have representation from GBI, FBI or CIA.”

Williams’s mental state could play a key role in this case and the victim’s family left court Tuesday unsure of what else they could do.