ATLANTA — A grandmother has a message for the babysitter and man accused of murdering her 3-year-old grandson: turn yourself in.
Atlanta police issued murder arrest warrants for the pair on Saturday, but they have not been arrested and booked into the Fulton County Jail.
Armani Lyons’ grandmother says this has only added to her pain.
“It hurt so bad. He still should be here,” Trinetta Julian told Channel 2’s Tom Jones.
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Julian says she keeps breaking down every time she thinks about how she will never hold Armani again.
“That’s my baby,” she cried.
She’ll never get her baby back, but seeing those responsible for taking his life would bring some relief, she says. So, when she heard police issued arrest warrants for Armani’s babysitter and another man, she was elated.
“I mean, I couldn’t do nothing but thank God for the arrest warrants being put out,” Julian said.
Barbara Edwards, 71, and Jermaine Hardeman, 35, face felony murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and child cruelty in connection with Armani’s April 5 death on Washington Street.
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Edwards, who was watching the child that night, and Hardeman have not turned themselves in.
Julian thought they were behind bars.
“They gotta be running, gotta be running. If they not behind bars. I’m thinking. I’m thinking they locked up. To my surprise, they not,” she said.
She says the fact the two aren’t behind bars is causing more pain on top of pain. Julian is urging anyone who knows where they are to contact police.
And she had this message if Edwards and Hardeman are watching.
“Just turn yourself in. Turn yourself in, please,” she said.
Jones reached out to police for an update on the pair’s arrest and to see what’s being done to get them into custody. He is still waiting for a response.
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