Parents charged after 7-year-old found dead in Fayetteville

Fayetteville police on Wednesday charged a woman and man – a mother and stepfather – in the death of their child after a 7-year-old was found at a home on Sisal Drive.

Evie Loretta Bates, 24, and Saint Michael Edwards, 23, each face charges of felony intentional child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury and were being held on $1 million bond in the death of Ethan Bates, authorities said.

Authorities said more charges could be added after an autopsy on the child.

Police were called to the family home in the 1500 block of Sisal Drive before dawn on Wednesday by the boy's mother and found the child dead.

On a 911 call, his mother sounded calm but grew emotional at times when she realized her son could be dead.

Crystal Smith, the property manager for this complex, said she can't believe little Ethan is gone.

"He was a very happy kid," she said, when recalling how she would see him around the neighborhood.

Investigator have not said how the child died because they're waiting for the autopsy results before they release that information.

How he died is something Smith and other neighbors want to know.

"It seemed as though he was really loved," she said. "And I'm really confused how all this happened. I really don't understand it."

The child's discovery was the third suspicious death in two days in Cumberland County.

• Police were called to the 300 block of Brinkley Street about 10:15 a.m. Wednesday on a report of an unresponsive person. When officers arrived, they found the body of Larry Scott, 47, of Fayetteville. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said in a written statement that his death was not being investigated as a homicide.
• The Cumberland County sheriff is looking into a death reported Tuesday afternoon in the 2900 block of Wingate Road. Crime scene tape surrounded the area after a suspicious vehicle was found in the wood line behind a house. Several law enforcement officials were called to the scene as they worked to determine what happened. The sheriff's office identified the victim as Crystal Jeanette Otts, 39, of Hope Mills. Investigators said the cause of death was undermined, pending results of an autopsy by the state medical examiner’s office.   

Anyone with information about either death was asked to call the Fayetteville Police Department or Fayetteville / Cumberland County Crimestoppers at 910-483-TIPS (8477).