During the initial investigation, Dothan police were contacted by investigators with the Hall County (Georgia) Sheriff’s Department in reference to a possible infant death. Hall County authorities indicated Mathis could be in the Dothan area with the dead infant. Following a weekend search, the couple could not be located in the area, but authorities received information that the couple had fled to central Florida.

Investigators determined Mathis and Oakes left Georgia with the infant the previous month after authorities attempted to arrest him on burglary and parole violation charges. The couple later checked into a Dothan motel, and Oakes left Dothan and briefly returned to Georgia, where she picked up her teenage daughter.

The infant was left in the care of Mathis. During her trip back to Georgia, Mathis telephoned Oakes and told her that the infant was dead. The next day, Oakes and her daughter returned to the Dothan motel, where she spent the night with the infant’s corpse.

According to Dothan police reports, investigators were told by Oakes that the infant’s body was placed inside the freezer when the smell of decomposition became unbearable. Oakes also confirmed that she and Mathis were under the influence of illegal drugs.