Dead 4-year-old was hidden in closet for hours before police found him

Colby Cooks was dead for up to a day before anyone found his body, hidden under clothes in a closet. He was four years old. His body showed signs of extensive blunt force trauma, including broken bones and internal lacerations to his liver and spleen. He was not the only child in the home. His five-year-old brother, Kayden, was found with severe facial injuries and acute starvation.

The timeline of the tragedy stretches back to late 2025. Colby and Kayden were staying with Jasmaine Smoak while their mother, Amanda Malone Walker, served a sentence for shoplifting. A family friend, Destyne Akoon, said the boys lived with Smoak in a townhome on Cardinal Drive SW in southwest Atlanta. Akoon told FOX 5 that state child welfare officials received multiple complaints about the children's condition during September, October, November, and December of last year.

Akoon said the father of the boys contacted the Georgia Department of Human Services Division of Family and Children Services repeatedly. She noted that a friend of hers filed a report in 2025 stating the children were being abused. The father also submitted an emergency referral just days before Colby died. He cited the deteriorating physical condition of Kayden, who was five at the time.

On Monday evening, Smoak's father called 911 for a welfare check at the Cardinal Drive SW residence. He told dispatchers his daughter claimed a child was unresponsive after ingesting medication. When emergency crews forced entry, they discovered Colby in the upstairs master bedroom. The Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death a homicide. Investigators estimated he had been dead for 12 to 24 hours based on rigor mortis.

Smoak had left the scene before police arrived. She drove four other children in a white Mercedes-Benz to a relative's home in Washington, Georgia. That relative is Jasmine Jenkins, a co-defendant in the case. Wilkes County deputies detained Smoak and recovered the children. Kayden was rushed to an Augusta hospital. Investigators later found a DoorDash delivery bag at the Cardinal Drive SW residence that Jenkins had ordered.

Arrest warrants describe Kayden as severely malnourished. Akoon said Smoak physically punished the boys when Kayden searched for food. She described how Kayden would wake up at night to ransack the kitchen because he was being starved. The warrants state that Smoak and Jenkins left four children unattended in the house on Sunday evening. At that time, Colby was already suffering from catastrophic injuries.

The Georgia Department of Human Services released a statement on Tuesday. The agency said it was devastated by the loss of the boy and extended condolences to the family. The agency pledged to fully cooperate with law enforcement. State officials have not yet released records detailing the specific actions taken by caseworkers after the reports were filed. They have also not confirmed the total number of welfare referrals logged for the children.

Smoak and Jenkins are currently booked in the Fulton County Jail without bond. Both women waived their initial court appearances on Friday. They face charges of murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and first-degree cruelty to children. Smoak faces an additional charge of concealing the death of another. Jenkins faces party to a crime charges. The Fulton County District Attorney's Office has not announced a date for the preliminary hearing.

Kayden remains hospitalized in Augusta. Medical personnel are treating his injuries and monitoring his recovery. The other four children recovered from Smoak's vehicle are safe. The case remains under active investigation by Atlanta police and state authorities.