Georgia · Cordele, Crisp County · Top Stories

Cordele Infant Death Investigation in Crisp County, GA: GBI Called In After 2-Month-Old Boy Dies

A 2-month-old boy died Friday evening after being brought to Crisp Regional Hospital in Cordele, the Crisp County coroner's office said. The Cordele Police Department asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to assist, and the body was sent to the state crime lab in Macon for an autopsy. No cause of death has been determined and no one has been charged.

By Kate Thompson Published Aug. 22, 2026, 6:35 p.m. ET 8 min read Investigation ongoing · no cause of death determined

What happened in Cordele on Friday evening?

The Crisp County coroner's office was called to Crisp Regional Hospital in Cordele at about 5:31 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, where a 2-month-old was pronounced deceased, WALB reported.

Willie Williams of the Crisp County coroner's office gave the address the infant was brought from as 104 Ross Street in Cordele.

Emergency responders rushed the infant, a boy, to the hospital from a Cordele home before 6 p.m., WGXA reported, citing the coroner's office. He was later pronounced deceased at the hospital.

The coroner's office said the body was sent to the state crime lab in Macon, where an autopsy will be performed.

Which agencies are investigating the infant's death?

The Cordele Police Department and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are trying to establish the circumstances of the death, WGXA reported.

The GBI confirmed on Friday that it had been called out by the Cordele Police Department to help with a death investigation, WALB reported that evening. GBI officials said at the time that no other information was available.

In a statement posted to social media, the Cordele Police Department said: “Because the case is still active, and to ensure both the integrity of the investigation and the privacy of the family, we are not releasing further details.”

The department added: “We ask our community to keep all those impacted in their thoughts and prayers as everyone navigates this heartbreaking situation.”

What are the confirmed details so far?

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What does Georgia law require when a young child dies unexpectedly?

Georgia's Death Investigation Act sets a standing procedure that applies statewide whenever a young child dies unexpectedly.

Under O.C.G.A. § 45-16-24, certain deaths must be reported immediately to the coroner or county medical examiner of the county where the acts or events resulting in the death occurred, or where the body is found. The categories the statute lists expressly include a child who dies after birth but before seven years of age where the death is unexpected or unexplained, and a death that comes suddenly when the person was in apparent good health.

That duty falls on any law enforcement officer or other person who has knowledge of the death.

The same section then requires that a coroner or county medical examiner who is notified of such a death order a medical examiner's inquiry into it. That requirement is the reason a formal inquiry follows a death of this kind rather than being a matter of discretion.

Where the person who died was under seven and the death was unexpected or unexplained, O.C.G.A. § 45-16-27.1 goes a step further: the medical examiner's inquiry must include an autopsy unless the inquiry shows that the death was expected or explainable with a reasonable degree of medical certainty.

Why are the coroner's office and the police both involved?

That pairing is written into the statute. O.C.G.A. § 45-16-25 sets out what a coroner or county medical examiner must do once that notice arrives.

The coroner or county medical examiner must immediately take charge of the body. A coroner so notified must then summon both a medical examiner and a proper peace officer.

From there the statute puts the two offices on the same track: the medical examiner or coroner and the peace officer together make inquiries regarding the cause, manner and circumstances of the death. When the peace officer is present at the scene, the officer has jurisdiction over it.

What does an autopsy at the Macon crime lab determine?

An autopsy is the medical examination used to establish a cause of death — the medical reason a person died — and a manner of death, the classification a medical examiner assigns to it.

The two are separate findings, and both can take time.

Georgia routes those examinations through the state crime laboratory system run by the GBI's Division of Forensic Sciences. The coroner's office said the body was sent to the lab in Macon.

What happens next in a death investigation like this?

The findings from the examination go back to the offices that ordered and requested it — here, the Crisp County coroner's office and the agencies investigating.

The medical examiner's inquiry itself does not stay verbal. Section 45-16-24 requires that an inquiry conducted under it be reduced to writing and filed as provided in Code Section 45-16-32.

While that work is underway, agencies routinely withhold detail. Cordele police said as much directly, saying in its statement that it would not release more while the case is active.

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Which agency holds the record on this case?

The investigating agency is the Cordele Police Department, which requested GBI assistance. Records generated by that department, including incident reports, are held by the department itself.

Material generated by the GBI in the course of assisting is held by the GBI and requested through its open records process. Findings from the medical examination are held by the coroner's office and the laboratory that performed it.

Where is Cordele?

Cordele is the county seat of Crisp County and sits on Interstate 75 in South Georgia. Crisp Regional Hospital is the community hospital serving the county.

What we don't know yet

• No cause of death has been determined or released.
• No manner of death has been determined or released.
• No agency has said when the autopsy results are expected.
• No one has been publicly named as a suspect, and no charge has been announced by any agency.
• What led to the call for emergency responders has not been described by any agency.
• The infant has not been publicly identified, and no agency has released any information about the family.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened in Cordele?
The Crisp County coroner's office said it was called to Crisp Regional Hospital about 5:31 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, where a 2-month-old was pronounced deceased. WGXA reported that emergency responders took the infant to the hospital from a Cordele home before 6 p.m.

How old was the infant who died in Cordele?
Two months old. WGXA reported the infant was a boy. No agency has publicly identified the child.

Which agencies are investigating the Cordele infant death?
The Cordele Police Department is investigating and asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to assist. The Crisp County coroner's office is also involved.

Has anyone been charged in the Cordele infant death?
No. No agency has announced a charge, and no one has been publicly named as a suspect.

Where is the autopsy being done?
At the state crime lab in Macon, according to the coroner's office.

Has a cause of death been released?
No. No cause of death and no manner of death has been determined or released, and no agency has said when autopsy results are expected.