Atlanta Police Charge Two Women With Murder After Finding 4-Year-Old Hidden In Closet

Two women now face murder charges after Atlanta police discovered the body of a 4-year-old boy hidden inside a master bedroom closet. Officers found Colby Cooks beneath a pile of clothes around 7:20 p.m. on Monday during a routine welfare check at a townhome.

Medical examiners ruled the death a homicide caused by blunt force trauma. The report listed severe injuries, including a lacerated liver and spleen, burns, bruises, possible broken limbs, and older healed scars. Investigators estimate Cooks died between 12 and 24 hours before his body was located.

Jasmaine Smoak, 32, and Jasmine Tyree Jenkins, 30, were arrested in Wilkes County hours after the discovery. Both face charges of murder and first-degree cruelty to children. Arrest warrants indicate Smoak served as the primary caretaker for Cooks and four other unrelated children residing in the home. Jenkins, a friend of Smoak, also lived at the address.

Warrants state the two women left the children unattended on Sunday evening to go out. The next day, Smoak called her father to claim an unresponsive child had ingested medication. Her father reported to 911 that Smoak had already left the residence. Police tracked Smoak down after she drove away in a Mercedes-Benz with the four surviving children.

One of the survivors, a 5-year-old, was hospitalized in Augusta. Doctors diagnosed malnourishment and facial injuries they attributed to abuse. Smoak is currently held in Fulton County Jail, while Jenkins remains in Wilkes County pending extradition.