Man accused of burying baby tried to flee state, authorities say

A South Carolina man accused of burying his 11-month-old son in a dog crate in a clump of scrubby pines was denied bond Thursday.

Michael Comer showed no remorse for attempting to kill his son, Koah, and tried to flee the state, Tyler Douglas, lead investigator for the Lexington County Sheriff's Department, told Judge Gary W. Reinhart. Reinhart approved a public defender for Comer and set a hearing for Dec. 10.

Comer, 25, has been charged with attempted murder, burglary and unlawfully placing a child at risk in connection with the disappearance and rescue of Koah, who survived. Comer has been in custody in Lexington County since Monday, when his son was reported missing.

An attorney for Comer has not yet been appointed.

Koah, who rescuers found after about 24 hours, was released from a hospital Tuesday night, Sheriff Jay Koon said. He is expected to make a full recovery and is with family members, authorities said.

John Comer said he'd opened his home to his son and grandson on Monday after Michael Comer said they needed a place to stay. On Wednesday, he showed an Associated Press reporter the small hole on a neighbor's property where rescuers uncovered the child.

"I cannot imagine how somebody could come to the point that that would be the right thing to do, or the thing to do at all," John Comer told the AP.

Authorities haven't revealed anything about Comer's motive. He was sentenced in October to probation after pleading guilty to domestic violence involving the boy's mother.

Koah's parents "have had some situations," the sheriff said.

"Children," he said, "sometimes get caught in the middle."

Dozens of first responders scoured the countryside for the boy with reddish-blond hair. After a full day of searching, authorities found freshly disturbed soil and heard cries from below, the sheriff said.

The boy likely survived because of cool temperatures and an air pocket created by a towel that was wrapped around the crate below ground, he said.

The officers discovered Koah "clinging to life," according to Koon, who called the infant's cries "the most joyful sound you ever heard of a crying baby."

CBS affiliate WLTX reported that when Koah's grandmother, Patricia Comer, learned the infant had been found, she jumped out of her car and shouted, "He's alive!"

In a 911 call Monday, the grandmother told a dispatcher she couldn't reach her son and had been uneasy about leaving Koah with him, the station reported.

"I had a bad feeling about the whole time," she said.

Comer was sentenced to probation in October after pleading guilty to domestic violence and aggravated breach-of-peace charges related to an arrest in July, according to Lexington County court records. Prosecutors dropped a gun charge as part of the plea deal.

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• South Carolina

Baby found alive after being buried in dog crate for 24 hours, authorities say