12 to 24 Hours: The Estimated Death Window of a 4-Year-Old Found in an Atlanta Closet

Investigators estimate the 4-year-old boy died between 12 and 24 hours before his body surfaced on Monday evening. Officers located the child at approximately 7:20 p.m. while conducting a welfare check at an Atlanta townhome. The body of Colby Cooks lay hidden beneath a pile of clothes in a master bedroom closet.

Autopsy results classified the death as a homicide caused by blunt force trauma. Medical examiners documented severe internal damage, including a lacerated liver and spleen. External injuries included burns, bruises, and possible broken limbs. Investigators also noted older, healed scars on the child.

Jasmaine Smoak, 32, and Jasmine Tyree Jenkins, 30, face murder and first-degree cruelty to children charges. Both women were apprehended in Wilkes County. Arrest warrants identify Smoak as the primary caretaker for Cooks and four other children residing in the home. None of the children are related to her. Jenkins, a friend of Smoak, also lived at the address.

Warrants state the pair left the children unattended on Sunday evening. The following day, Smoak contacted her father, claiming an unresponsive child had taken medication. Her father dialed 911, noting Smoak had already departed. She drove a Mercedes-Benz with the four surviving children before police located her.

One surviving child, a 5-year-old, was transported to Augusta for treatment of malnourishment and facial injuries attributed to abuse. Smoak is currently held at the Fulton County Jail. Jenkins remains in Wilkes County awaiting extradition.