Augusta, GA
A look at burial processes after remains go missing in Augusta
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Kamaron Hickman and Fatima Nettles are still searching for answers as to why Hillcrest Memorial Park can’t find the casket or remains of their six-month-old daughter, Jada.
The couple no longer has ties to Augusta and wanted to exhume Jada’s body to have her closer to them. When the groundskeeper at Hillcrest went to dig, they did not find anything in the ground.
The case is gaining attention across the state and is raising questions about standard protocols for burials.
The process of burying your loved one is overwhelming, to say the least.
Walker Posey with Posey Funeral Directors has been in the funeral business for more than two decades. His funeral home did not perform Jada Hickman’s service, but he knows a thing or two about the process.
“You get one chance to do this right, you don’t get a second opportunity,” said Posey. “As a profession, there’s definitely a chain of custody to take care of someone’s loved one, whether it’s from the time they pass away in a hospital or their home to the time that they come into our care to the time it takes to the cemetery.”
The process itself is almost like a paper trail.
“There should be checks and balances, both at the funeral home and at the cemetery side,” said Posey.
It’s a step-by-step process that starts immediately when your loved one passes.
“We take the loved one into our care, and then we meet with the family to discuss arrangements and funeral plans,” said Posey.
Once that step is completed, Posey says that is when the cemetery gets involved.
“They go to the cemetery and most cemeteries require that the family identifies the location of the plot, even if they purchase it before they walk out. They say ‘Yes, this is correct’, they sign an authorization for the grave to be open and then deal with all the cemetery paperwork at that time,” he said.
Posey says, for him, transparency is key.
“Many times whether it’s burial or cremation, just knowing the process itself, what’s going to happen in the timeline can give families a lot of peace of mind,” he said. “And for us, peace of mind is critical to those who are serving.”
We reached out to Hillcrest Memorial and Dignity Memorial, which owns Hillcrest Memorial Park.
“We respect the privacy of the families we are honored to serve and, as a result, we are unable to discuss this matter with the media. However, we can say that we are working closely with the family,” they said in a statement.
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AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Democratic candidate for Georgia governor Olu Brown visited Augusta on Friday evening, stopping near the Sand Hills Community Center as early voting continues.
Brown is one of six candidates in the Democratic primary.
Campaign priorities
Brown said his vision as governor would focus on three main areas.
“One, it’s affordability around health care and making sure we expand Medicaid and expand Peach Care and make sure we continue to make our rural health care systems healthy and vital,” Brown said. “Number two, we’ve got to address education in all of Georgia, making sure every kid in Georgia gets an excellent education, and we’re paying our teachers more. And number 3, we’re protecting the rights of all women. Folks in the Gold Dome shouldn’t be making decisions about their bodies or the choices that they make.”
Brown is running against Amanda Duffy, Derrick Jackson, Geoff Duncan, Jason Esteves, Keisha Lance Bottoms and Mike Thurmond.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – An Augusta Prep student was arrested on a charge of terroristic threats over a picture of a LEGO gun he posted on social media.
It happened Wednesday, according to an incident report from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.
Eric Hedinger, the principal of Augusta Preparatory Day School, told deputies a student had uploaded a picture to Snapchat of a “pistol” with the caption “shooting up the school so I don`t have to take the stats exam tomorrow. Don`t come yall!”
The principal said he spoke to the student and his father about the photo.
The principal also provided deputies with the student’s address in Grovetown.
A deputy went there and was told by the student that the “pistol” was a LEGO set that he had built.
He also said the comment he made was supposed to be a joke because he was not looking forward to taking his Advanced Placement statistics test this week.
The student showed the deputy the box that the LEGO set came in, and how the set was already disassembled.
The deputy also looked in the boy’s room to make sure he was not in possession of any weapons.
The mother advised that there was one firearm in the residence but it was locked up.
The deputy contacted Judge Leslie Morgan and she issued a warrant for terroristic threats.
The student, age 18, was taken into custody and transported to the Columbia County Detention Center.
News 12 is not reporting his name or publishing his photo since the LEGO gun could not have actually harmed anyone.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
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