“My Mom Wants to Kill Me” Detroit Boy Tells CPS Months Before His Mother Does Just That: Is It Time to Replace the Mayor?

Photo of Zemar King and his mother Brandee Pierce from CrimeOnline.com.

9-year-old Zemar King was in fear for his life, and he told Children’s Protective Services that his mother “wants to kill me” months before his lifeless body was recovered from a shallow grave. While meeting with CPS, the boy recounted abuse by his mother Brandee Pierce, 41, that included being “choked” and “beaten” with belts. Still, at the time to CPS, the claim must have seen outrageous, but it was an eerie omen by the Detroit boy.

What Happened

In April of 2024, Brandee Pierce went to the Plymouth hospital emergency room and complained of facing bouts of anxiety and depression. According to WXYZ.com, Pierce told CPS that “she had a breakdown and felt herself going into a panic attack.” She was “questioning whether she should give up custody of one of (her) children.” She’d recently been evicted from the hotel in which she was living, and her only means of transportation, her car, had been repossessed. Because she had no funds or place to go, she told CPS she and her children would be sleeping on the streets. This was the fourth and last interaction between the organization and Pierce, and they labeled her case “critical.”

During this same time, CPS interviewed Zemar and found that he had not been to school in over a year. He admitted that he didn’t always have food to eat and that his mother disciplined him by “whooping me with a belt.” He recalled that she had “choked me with her hands” and said she wanted “to kill me.” After hearing all of this, CPS chose to close the case, even knowing Pierce was receiving mental health treatment almost every day.

Other News: Read about MISSING DETROIT GIRL NA’ZIYAH HARRIS whose stepfather is charged with her murder.

University of Michigan law professor Frank Vandervort, a child welfare advocate, is shocked at the lack of action by CPS after reviewing the internal records of the agency regarding Brandee Pierce’s case. As he puts it, “Any rational, normal person walking out on the street hearing this would be completely alarmed by what they’re hearing. They would take action. They would call the police if they heard this and saw this.” CPS’s closing the case reflects a larger issue in which cases with numerous red flags are neglected, leading to the deaths of children.

Too Many Complaints

7 News Detroit obtained internal CPS documents related to Brandee Pierce that purportedly shows a years-long trail of reports that compelled CPS to engage with Pierce four times. State employees had been warned that the safety of Zemar King was at risk, but nothing came of CPS’s efforts or lack thereof.

In 2015, Pierce allegedly admitted to drinking liquor and smoking weed while pregnant with Zemar. She said had done so because she hadn’t decided if she would “keep” him, insinuating abortion had still been an option.

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At only 4 years old in 2019, Zemar was found wandering alone in an apartment building lobby. His mother had allegedly told him to wait in the lobby while she went to the store. Her cousin showed up for Zemar and informed police they were living with her. The police said CPS decided to take no further action.

It didn’t take long for Brandee Pierce’s neglect of Zemar to escalate. Pierce allegedly left the boy locked in a hot car for over an hour and a half in 78-degree weather when he was only 5 years old. Her excuse was that her son was a “heavy sleeper” and no doctor would see him for it. Prior to Zemar’s murder, this was the most egregious offense reported. It was a major red flag. Police referred Pierce for charges, but prosecutors declined, saying Pierce was working with CPS. Pierce clearly wasn’t working with CPS or anyone for that matter. A landlord discovered Zemar’s body buried in a backyard on January 6.

CPS’s lack of action seems to be the standard. On January 9, 2024, 13-year-old Na’Ziyah Harris went missing, and many feel that this could have been avoided. Speaking with FOX 2 News in Detroit, two family members of Na’Ziyah Harris said they had gone to Children’s Protective Services to report suspected abuse. “Trish” and “Vanessa”, whose real names were withheld, recounted their efforts to get the agency involved. She and Trish called a total of “7 to 10 times over the course of the last eight months, eight months to a year,” Vanessa said in February 2024, over a month after Na’Ziyah went missing.

At a preliminary hearing on January 16, 2025, Judge Sabree found there is enough evidence to charge Jarvis Butts, the girl’s stepfather, with the murder of the missing 13-year-old Na’Ziyah Harris. She was last seen January 7, 2024 in Detroit, getting off a school bus. This came after the many calls the girl’s family made to CPS. This agency seems to be doing more harm through inaction than previously thought. There does not seem to be any oversight, management or care for the citizens of the city.

Other News: Read about the BALTIMORE MOM who killed her daughter for believing she was “having sexual relations with the father of her other three children.”

In a separate incident this month, 2 kids froze to death in a van in Detroit, as they slept beside their mother Tateona Williams and siblings. Williams had reached out to the city of Detroit for help in November of 2024, but her request went unanswered. The mayor admitted she had reached out and that no one from the homeless response team followed up. Since November, Williams had reached out numerous times for shelter but had been told there was no space in any shelter “for families.” At the very least, CPS should have been notified to begin an investigation into the welfare of the kids. Instead, the kids, ages 9 and 2, froze to death in a van.

The common thread between all of these tragedies is Detroit’s CPS, mayor and, generally, the city’s social welfare services. Children are dying as a result of the poor management of Detroit’s social services. Mothers are reaching out for support only to have their calls go unanswered or to be told there is no space for them and their children. The resulting deaths speak volumes about the lack of care running rampant through Detroit’s citizen-facing organizations. It seems it’s time for Detroit to get a new mayor.

The Takeaway

Zemar King told CPS that his mother wanted to “kill” him, and prosecutors chose to ignore this glaring red flag. CPS took notes documenting Brandee Pierce’s state of mind during their last interaction, revealing a woman suffering from depression and lifestyle struggles. She had no home, transportation or funds. Obviously, she needed wraparound services. Zemar told CPS that he didn’t always eat and that he was being beaten by his mother. With all of this and police recommendations for some kind of charges or action to protect Zemar, CPS closed their fourth and final case involving Pierce and Zemar. The end result was her murdering Zemar, a child who tried to warn the right people.

In one case in Detroit, a child went missing after multiple reports to CPS of possible abuse, and this did not have to happen to Na’Ziyah Harris. Still, there is another example, where the gross mishandling and disregard of a plea for help led to the freezing deaths of children, who died from exposure. This is all happening under the watch of Detroit mayor Mike Duggan. Historically, he is the second-longest serving mayor in the history of the city, but there does not seem to be much progress by way of human welfare services to show for it.

This article was written by Jermaine Reed, MFA, the Editor-in-Chief of The Reeders Block. He also works an Adjunct College Professor. Join the email list to get notifications on new blog posts and books. This article is 100% human-written. And remember, if you see an error, that’s what makes us human.