April 4, 2007

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP)  — A convicted child molester, his parents and a family friend made their initial court appearance Monday in connection with the abduction and death of a 6-year-old boy last month.

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George Edenfield, 32, and his parents, David and Peggy Edenfield, are charged with murder in the death of Christopher Michael Barrios Jr., who was missing for a week before his body was found March 15 in garbage bags by the side of a road three miles from his trailer park.

The Edenfields will be formally arraigned April 13 at the Glynn County Courthouse, when they are expected to enter pleas on the murder and child molestation charges they all face.

District Attorney Stephen Kelley has said he will seek the death penalty for all three.

Donald Dale, 35, a family friend of the Edenfields, pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of concealing a death and tampering with evidence. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on both counts.

According to an affidavit police used to obtain a search warrant of the Edenfields' home, George Edenfield told police that he choked Christopher to death. He told them the ''devil'' told him to kill Christopher after he watched the boy arrive home from school.

Before the child was killed, authorities say, Edenfield and his 58-year-old father forced the boy to have sex with them while Edenfield's 57-year-old mother watched.

Peggy Edenfield told police her son tried to wash fingerprints off the dead boy's neck with soap and water and then wrapped the body in trash bags, according to the affidavit. She said she helped her husband dispose of the wrapped body.
 

Contact Chuck Hustmyre at chuck3174@yahoo.com

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