I know I’m not the only parent who feels a certain hum of anxiousness when my child has to interact with another. I wonder will they be kind to him? Will they accept him? If they are mean or too rough, should I intervene? It’s my own baggage from my own anxious childhood, so I try to keep it to myself. It’s good for children to regularly socialize with others in their age group with minimal adult supervision.
But our parents were right to warn us about the company we keep. Rarely do children fully comprehend the consequences of their actions. And that can be dangerous. For 8-year-old Noah Bush from Georgia, it was fatal.
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Authorities initially said Noah's death was an accidental drowning.
Noah Bush, who was 8 years old, drowned in a borrow pit in Jesup, Georgia, in May 2024, WSBTV reports. A borrow pit is a hole dug in the ground and filled with material on a construction site. When his body was discovered, authorities ruled his death an accidental drowning. They claimed he took off his shoes and wondered around a “no trespassing sign.”
But his family never accepted that. They knew that Noah was afraid of deep water. So the family hired lawyers and a private investigator to determine the cause of Noah’s death. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation also took on the case and interviewed the children who were with Noah on the last night of his life.
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Two older children have been arrested.
The investigator ruled Noah’s death a homicide. As a result, two children, a 10-year-old and an 11-year-old, were arrested. They are set to appear in juvenile court. The 11-year-old is accused of simple battery, involuntary manslaughter, concealing the death of another, and trespassing. The 10-year-old is accused of concealing the death of another and trespassing. Video evidence may result in additional charges. The children’s names have not been released, in accordance with Georgia state law.
Family attorneys said adults need to be held responsible as well.
At the time of reporting, no adults have been charged, WTOC reported. But Francis Johnson, the family’s lawyer, said that is likely to happen in the future.
“The adults who helped to conceal and obstruct the investigation, and who instead of telling the truth became co-participants in this tragedy need to be held accountable,” lawyers said, according to WSBTV. “The adults involved lied. We won’t stop until you’re held accountable for your actions.”
A family lawyer said the boys argued before Noah's death.
Johnson also shared the belief that Noah’s death was not an accident. He claimed that the three children got into an argument, which ultimately lead to Noah’s death.
A judge set a $5,000 bond for the 10-year-old and an $11,000 bond for the 11-year-old WJCL reports. They two boys remain in a juvenile detention center.
