In a Lexington County courtroom this week, a young father who stands accused of burying his infant son alive was denied bond and will remain in custody until the next hearing on December 10. The story sits at the painful edge where a family's private strain becomes a public reckoning, and where a child who should have been protected was instead placed beneath the earth. That he was found alive after a long night of searching offers a fragile thread of mercy, even as the reasons for such an act remain unexplained, leaving a community to grapple with a question it cannot yet answer.
Judge denies bond for Lexington County father accused of burying infant son in dog crate
An 11-month-old boy was buried alive in a dog crate and survived after about 24 hours underground, and his father is in custody.
Rescuers heard cries from below the freshly disturbed soil
Mark
Start with the basics. What did the judge actually decide on Thursday?
Mimi
He denied bond for Michael Comer, approved a public defender, and set a hearing for Dec. 10. Comer is 25 and has been in custody since Monday.
Mark
What is he charged with?
Mimi
Attempted murder, unlawful conduct toward a child, custodial interference and burglary.
Luke
Worth noting that the claim about no remorse and trying to leave the state comes from the lead investigator, Tyler Douglas, speaking in court. It's testimony, not something a court has found.
Mark
And the boy? How did he survive?
Mimi
Rescuers heard cries and found disturbed soil after about a day of searching. The sheriff says cool temperatures and an air pocket from a towel around the crate helped. Koah left the hospital Tuesday night.
Luke
That explanation is the sheriff's assessment, and the 24-hour figure is an estimate. Nobody has said exactly when the burial happened.
Mark
Is there any sense of why this happened?
Mimi
Not officially. His mother described earlier suicidal statements and talk of taking Koah to New York for work. He'd also been sentenced in October to probation for domestic violence involving the boy's mother.
Luke
Those are background facts, not a motive. Authorities have said plainly they haven't revealed one, and we shouldn't connect those dots for them.
Mimi
His father, John Comer, had taken them in Monday. He's the one who said he can't imagine how anyone would come to this.
Le Pouls
- A father is held without bond after allegedly burying his 11-month-old son alive in a dog crate beneath scrubby pines.
- Dozens of responders combed the countryside for the missing boy until freshly disturbed soil and faint cries led them to him after roughly 24 hours.
- Investigators allege the father showed no remorse and tried to leave the state, while charges of attempted murder and child abuse mount.
- A public defender has been approved, and the case now waits on a December 10 hearing that could bring a motive and the weight of prior probation into focus.
- Koah has left the hospital, but the question of how a family reached this breaking point remains open.
In a Lexington County courtroom this week, a young father who stands accused of burying his infant son alive was denied bond and will remain in custody until the next hearing on December 10. The story sits at the painful edge where a family's private strain becomes a public reckoning, and where a child who should have been protected was instead placed beneath the earth. That he was found alive after a long night of searching offers a fragile thread of mercy, even as the reasons for such an act remain unexplained, leaving a community to grapple with a question it cannot yet answer.
On Thursday, a judge in Lexington County refused bond for Michael Comer, 25, accused of burying his 11-month-old son alive in a dog crate. Judge Gary W. Reinhart appointed a public defender and set the next hearing for Dec. 10. Comer has been in custody since Monday, when the boy was reported missing.
The search that followed drew dozens of first responders across the countryside. After a full day, searchers noticed freshly disturbed soil and heard cries from beneath it. Rescuers dug out the child after roughly 24 hours underground, and by Tuesday night he had been released from the hospital. Sheriff Jay Koon credited cool temperatures and an air pocket formed by a towel around the crate for keeping him alive.
The days before the burial hint at a family in crisis. Comer's mother said he had made suicidal statements and talked of moving to New York with his son. His grandfather, John Comer, had taken them in on Monday and later showed a reporter the hole where the child was found. Authorities have not disclosed a motive, but Comer was sentenced in October to probation for domestic violence involving Koah's mother. For now, a father waits in custody and a child is home from the hospital, while the community waits for answers at the December hearing.
On Thursday, in a Lexington County courtroom, a judge refused bond for Michael Comer, the 25-year-old accused of burying his 11-month-old son alive in a dog crate beneath a clump of scrubby pines. Judge Gary W. Reinhart approved a public defender for Comer and set the next hearing for Dec. 10. No attorney had yet been appointed when the proceeding took place.
The case against Comer, as laid out by investigators, is serious. He is charged with attempted murder, unlawful conduct toward a child, custodial interference and burglary. Tyler Douglas, the lead investigator for the Lexington County Sheriff's Department, told the judge that Comer showed no remorse for trying to kill his son, Koah, and that he tried to leave the state. Comer has been held in Lexington County since Monday, the day the boy was reported missing.
The search that followed was large. Dozens of first responders combed the countryside for a boy with reddish blond hair. After a full day, searchers noticed freshly disturbed soil and heard cries coming from below it, Sheriff Jay Koon said. Rescuers dug Koah out after roughly 24 hours underground. The sheriff described the child as "clinging to life" when he was freed. By Tuesday night, Koon said, Koah had been released from the hospital.
Koon offered an explanation for why the boy survived. Cool temperatures helped, he said, as did an air pocket created by a towel wrapped around the crate below ground. "By the grace of God," the sheriff said, the pocket likely gave Koah enough air to last through the estimated 24 hours beneath the dirt.
The days before the burial offer some context. Comer's mother told authorities that her son had previously made suicidal statements, and that he had spoken of taking Koah to New York, where he claimed to have friends who could help him find work. John Comer, the boy's grandfather, said he had opened his home to his son and grandson on Monday after Michael said they needed somewhere to stay. On Wednesday he showed an Associated Press reporter the small hole on a neighbor's property where rescuers found the child. "I cannot imagine how somebody could come to the point that that would be the right thing to do, or the thing to do at all," he told the AP.
Authorities have not said what motivated the act. What is on record is that Comer was sentenced in October to probation after pleading guilty to domestic violence involving Koah's mother. The sheriff said the boy's parents "have had some situations," and added that children sometimes get caught in the middle.
For now, the case moves on two tracks: a father held without bond, and a child who has left the hospital. The Dec. 10 hearing is the next scheduled step, and whether investigators disclose a motive, or whether Comer's recent probation sentence becomes central to the case, remains to be seen.
Citations marquantes
I cannot imagine how somebody could come to the point that that would be the right thing to do, or the thing to do at all.— John Comer, the boy's grandfather, to the AP
Children sometimes get caught in the middle.— Sheriff Jay Koon
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