Amanda Morgan appears in court on April 20 (WKRG).
An Alabama mother charged with murder in connection with the death of one of her teenage children has appeared in court.
Amanda Morgan, 39, waived her right to a preliminary hearing on Monday after her court appearance in Alabama's Mobile County. Morgan is charged with felony murder and aggravated child abuse after her two teenage children with autism were found home alone, her 14-year-old son dead of strangulation, in October 2025.
Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood spoke to local media about the case outside court and provided more details about how the boy died.
As Law&Crime previously reported, the 14-year-old boy died of strangulation and was found with a blanket wrapped around his neck. Blackwood told local CBS affiliate WKRG that the boy tied the blanket around his neck to wear as a cape, saying, "That was sort of a comfort mechanism" for him. While Blackwood described the strangulation as accidental, he added, "[T]here was a long period of alleged neglect that led to these circumstances."
Blackwood also told WKRG, "We're not alleging that Amanda Morgan physically killed her child."
Morgan is, however, accused of leaving her two children with severe autism home alone for long periods of time. When the boy was found dead on Oct. 8, 2025, witnesses told police that Morgan allegedly left her two teenagers home alone overnight. During a court hearing in March after Morgan was arrested, a witness testified that Morgan would leave the teenagers home by themselves for "extended periods of time."
Morgan's 16-year-old daughter was treated at the hospital for severe malnutrition. After her arrest, Morgan was ordered not to have any contact with her surviving child. Police said Morgan's home in Theodore, Alabama, was infested with insects and human waste. The home reportedly had no running water or air conditioning.
WKRG reported that Morgan waived her right to a preliminary hearing, and now the case heads to a grand jury that will decide whether or not to indict her for murder and aggravated child abuse. Morgan remains in custody at the Mobile County Jail, where she is being held on $20,000 bond. Her next court date was not immediately available.