PERRY, Ga. (Court TV) — A Georgia jury was unable to agree whether a teacher was responsible for killing her young son, leading to a mistrial.

Kianna Davis, 35, pleaded not guilty to seven charges, including malice murder, felony murder, second-degree murder, cruelty to children and aggravated assault in the death of her son, 2-year-old Karter Ambrose. After hours of deliberation over two days, the jurors could not reach a unanimous decision, forcing the judge to declare a mistrial.

Kianna Davis appears in court on July 13, 2026. (Court TV)

Karter was rushed into his pediatrician’s office on Nov. 17, 2020, wearing a diaper and T-shirt. Prosecutor Justin Duane said the child’s pulse was disappearing, that he was cold to the touch and that his eyes were rolled back in his head as doctors frantically attempted CPR and called 911. The child was pronounced dead after he was taken to a nearby hospital.

The 2-year-old had a documented history of medical issues, including asthma. Davis’ attorney described him as a “sickly child” in his opening statement to the jury. “At first glance, this looked like a child that had succumbed to this breathing issue,” Duane said. “Until the autopsy was performed.”

Duane said that a medical examiner determined that Karter’s cause of death was blunt force injury to his abdomen that caused a lacerated liver. “This is a homicide, no doubt about it,” Duane said, telling the jury that the child had injuries to his torso, his genitalia and his head.

Investigators said that at the time of his death, Karter was in the custody of his mother and her boyfriend, who has also been charged in the case and has pleaded not guilty. “During this trial, you will have the urge, I suspect, to try to pick who did it,” Duane said in his opening statement to the jury. “Which one beat him? Did they both beat him? I’m sorry to tell you that I do not have the answer to every question that you are going to have in this trial. But the testimony you are going to hear is that the beating or beatings this child sustained were only when the defendant or the defendant and her boyfriend or the boyfriend had custody. Sole access to this child. They are parties to each other’s crimes.”

In a series of statements to police and others, Davis allegedly offered a number of explanations for her son’s injuries, including saying that he jumped off a couch and a bed, that he suffered from diabetes and that he was hurt while riding his bike. Davis’ attorney, Jeffrey Grube, urged the jury to remember that the prosecution bears the burden of proving its case and that his client need not offer any explanation of what happened. “She doesn’t have to. It’s not her burden,” he said. “She doesn’t have to prove to you that her only child died because he fell off a bed or bumped into a table or on the handlebars of his little bicycle.”

At the time of her son’s death, Davis was working as a teacher in the Houston County School District through a program at Central Georgia Technical College. Grube said that on the dates when Karter was allegedly hurt, his client was teaching.

DAILY TRIAL HIGHLIGHTS

DAY 4 – 7/17/26

• LIVESTREAM: GA v. Kianna Davis – Day 4 | Teacher & Toddler Murder Trial
• The jury returned to deliberate.
• MORE: Jury deciding fate of teacher charged with murder claims juror is ‘combative’ as they say they’re deadlocked
• The jury was unable to reach a verdict; the judge declared a mistrial.

DAY 3 – 7/15/26

• LIVESTREAM: GA v. Kianna Davis – Day 3 | Teacher & Toddler Murder Trial
• Justin Collins returned to the witness stand.
  • Plays Dec. 7 interview with Davis for the jury.
  • No sign of breathing issues that would have caused Karter’s death.
  • Davis denied hitting her child and said that Benton would not harm her child either.
• Lt. Darren Meadows, sheriff’s office
  • Was monitoring the case and joined a meeting with the medical examiner’s office to discuss the evidence.
  • Did a recorded interview with Davis on Dec. 9. The interview was played in court; in it, Meadows goes over the injuries noted in the autopsy report.
  • Starts to get irritated at the suggestion she would have hurt her child.
• The State rested its case.
• Kianna Davis, Defendant
  • Denied ever harming her child and said that Benton would not have hurt her child.
  • Described Karter as a “crybaby” and said he would have complained if something was wrong with him.
  • She admitted to blocking Karter’s father’s phone number because she was annoyed with him.
  • MORE: Teacher charged with murder adamantly denies hurting her ‘crybaby’ 2-year-old son
• The defense rested its case.
• The prosecution and defense delivered closing arguments.
• The jury began to deliberate.

DAY 2 – 7/14/26

• LIVESTREAM: GA v. Kianna Davis – Day 2 | Teacher & Toddler Murder Trial
• Casey Cochran, Primary Pediatrics
  • Previously worked as an RN at Primary Pediatrics, now a nurse practitioner.
  • Described the child as lifeless and said his eyes were rolled back when she put him on the table to start CPR.
  • The man on the phone told the mother that he should have brought the child in last night.
  • The child had a known history of asthma.
• Daniel Brown, Georgia Bureau of Investigation medical examiner
  • Performed an autopsy on the child.
  • Did not find any evidence of respiratory disease.
  • Found six external injuries on the child’s body. There were internal injuries as well, the most serious of which was a laceration to his liver.
  • A hemorrhage to the back of the child’s right scalp indicated some type of trauma.
  • Death was ruled a homicide; the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the abdomen.
  • This could not have been an accident because the injuries don’t support that.
• Jonathan Eisenstat, chief medical examiner
  • Reviewed the case and autopsy and met with investigators to go over their findings.
  • Did not see any natural disease process in the liver that would have caused the death; it was otherwise healthy.
  • There was no evidence of an acute asthmatic attack.
  • The injury occurred one to three days before the child’s death.
• Shirley Tharpe, took care of child
  • Started watching the child when he was 9 months old until his death.
  • He appeared normal that Friday and was playing with other children and watching television.
  • His mother picked him up on Friday; he was not dropped off on Monday.
  • Continued to talk to the defendant after the child’s death; Davis bragged to her that the original detective was taken off the case.
  • Did not notice any bruises or scars on the child.
• James Kennedy, defendant’s grandfather
  • Child was at his house the weekend before he passed away with the defendant.
  • The child seemed happy and did not appear to have any injuries. He was not complaining or vomiting.
• Kadeem Ambrose, child’s father
  • Their son was born in Jan. 2018.
  • Ambrose took his son to daycare on Thursday; that’s the last time he saw him alive. On Thursday, the child was fine and not throwing up.
  • The defendant blocked his number that weekend; calls and texts wouldn’t go through. She was mad at him for overpaying child support.
  • On Monday, the defendant told him he couldn’t talk to Karter and said that he was sick and throwing up.
  • The defendant told him her boyfriend wouldn’t do this to Karter.
• Matthew Wojtal, police officer
  • Called to the pediatrician’s office regarding CPR in progress.
  • The jury saw his bodyworn camera, which showed him talking to a crying Davis.
• Juan Herrera, crime scene investigator
  • Responded to the hospital’s emergency room and photographed the scene.
  • Stains on the floor were photographed along with the used diaper and shorts.
• Justin Collins, sheriff’s office
  • Plays police interview with Kianna Davis that shows her becoming emotional.
  • In the interview, Davis said that Karter was throwing up all weekend and said his tummy hurt at one point.
    • She went to work and then her boyfriend called her to report he was taking her son to the doctor.
    • Her child was acting normal and nothing out of the ordinary happened.
  • In a second interview, Collins asks about contusions found on the child’s body and lacerated liver, indicating this wasn’t an asthma attack.

DAY 1 – 7/13/26

• LIVESTREAM: GA v. Kianna Davis – Day 1 | Teacher & Toddler Murder Trial
• The prosecution and defense delivered opening statements.
• Taylor Sledge Ragsdale, Primary Pediatrics
  • Worked as a receptionist at the pediatrician’s office and saw a man bring a young child into the office. The child was limp in his arms and the man said he needed help.
  • The child was lifeless and not moving.
  • The man did not seem overly concerned.
• Emily Baker, Primary Pediatrics
  • Worked at Primary Pediatrics when Carter was brought in; she got a call for a lifeless child and went out and brought the child back into a room.
  • The child was lifeless and his feet were white; his eyes were rolled to the back of his head.
  • The man with him said the child had been vomiting the night before, and he gave him a breathing treatment; it seemed like the child had a seizure before he brought him in.
• Amanda Gattie, Primary Pediatrics, pediatric nurse practitioner
  • Ran to get the doctor after someone said the child was unresponsive.
  • Started talking to the man who identified himself as the child’s stepfather, who said the child had breathing problems overnight.
• Megan Kelly, Primary Pediatrics
  • Worked at the pediatrician’s office when Carter was brought in.
  • Interacted with the man who brought him in, and believed he was on the phone with the child’s mother at the time.
  • The man said that the child had been vomiting and had diarrhea and was lethargic.
• Lisa James, registered nurse
  • The unresponsive child was brought in.
  • The child was not breathing and had no pulse.
  • The child was cold to the touch and was covered head to toe in water.
  • The child was deceased.