04/04/2026
On October 7, 2017, Chris McNabb and Cortney Bell told police their newborn baby had vanished from her crib inside their mobile home.
By the next day, the search turned into a recovery.
In a wooded area nearby, volunteers found the infant’s body wrapped in a blanket and hidden inside a Nike drawstring bag that belonged to McNabb.
The autopsy confirmed the worst.
Her death was ruled a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head, with devastating skull fractures.
As the investigation unfolded, prosecutors began noticing cracks in McNabb’s story.
He claimed he had been asleep, yet social media records showed he was active online during the same time period. Witnesses also testified that when he was told the baby had been found, he ran from the scene and behaved erratically — never asking if she was alive.
The state argued the home environment was chaotic and dangerous, claiming both parents were using methamphetamine and that the child was “doomed” by neglect and violence.
In May 2019, the case reached its conclusion in court.
McNabb was found guilty of malice murder and felony murder. During sentencing, he insisted he was innocent — but told the judge the killer deserved the maximum sentence. The judge agreed, sentencing him to life in prison without parole plus 10 years.
Bell was convicted of second-degree murder and child cruelty and sentenced to 30 years.
Years later, the case took another turn.
McNabb remains incarcerated at Hays State Prison, and his conviction was upheld by the Georgia Supreme Court in 2022.
But in late 2023, Bell’s remaining convictions were fully overturned after the court ruled there wasn’t enough evidence to prove her alleged drug use or negligence directly caused the baby’s death. As of January 2025, she was reportedly wanted on unrelated drug charges.
