A South Carolina man accused of burying his 11-month-old son in a dog crate was denied bond Thursday, and a judge scheduled his next hearing for Dec. 10.
Investigators told the court that Michael Comer, 25, showed no remorse after attempting to kill his son, Koah, and tried to leave the state. Judge Gary W. Reinhart approved a public defender for Comer. Authorities said Comer faces charges of attempted murder, burglary and unlawfully placing a child at risk tied to Koah’s disappearance and rescue. He has been in the Lexington County jail since Monday.
Officials said an attorney had not yet been appointed to represent Comer.
According to the sheriff, Koah was found after roughly 24 hours and was released from a hospital Tuesday night. He is expected to fully recover and is now with relatives.
Koah’s grandfather, John Comer, said he had taken in his son and grandson on Monday when they needed a place to stay. He later showed a reporter the small hole on a neighbor’s property where rescuers uncovered the child, saying he could not imagine how anyone would think that was the right thing to do.
Authorities have not discussed a possible motive. Records show Comer was sentenced to probation in October after pleading guilty to domestic violence involving the boy’s mother.
South Carolina man accused case details
The sheriff noted Koah’s parents have had issues, and said children sometimes get caught in the middle. Dozens of first responders searched the rural area for the toddler with reddish-blond hair. After a daylong effort, crews spotted freshly disturbed soil and heard cries from below. Officials said the child likely survived because of cooler temperatures and an air pocket created by a towel wrapped around the crate.
Deputies found Koah clinging to life. The sheriff described the infant’s cries as the most joyful sound to hear from a baby in that situation.
Local media reported that Koah’s grandmother, Patricia Comer, shouted, “He’s alive,” when she learned he had been found. In a 911 call Monday, she told a dispatcher she could not reach her son and had been uneasy about leaving Koah with him, saying she had a bad feeling.
Court records show Comer also pleaded guilty in October to aggravated breach of peace stemming from a July arrest. Prosecutors dropped a gun charge as part of the plea agreement.
