Charges expected in death of boy, 2

Kimberly Price went clothes shopping for her 2-year-old son Wednesday.

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On Friday, her son Brice Dungan will wear the tiny black suit and tie she bought for his funeral.

"I just need him to be beautiful," she said.

Brice died of asphyxiation Tuesday morning at 10:26 a.m. at his Lake Forest Court town home while sleeping in the living room with his 12-year-old sister.

Richmond County Sheriff's Sgt. Richard Roundtree said Brice's death is being investigated as a homicide.

Mrs. Price knows her son's death is a criminal investigation - it's part of a week that began with celebration but turned into a nightmare.

On Monday, Kim Dungan, 36, married John Price, 43, an administrator at Kimberly Clark. Heading to Augusta Marriott Hotel and Suites for their honeymoon, the couple said, they left Brice and Mrs. Price's 12-year-old, whom she described as borderline autistic, home with her sister, Michelle Whitmore, of Aiken.

Ms. Whitmore called the hotel Tuesday morning and told Mr. Price that something bad had happened. The couple rushed home.

They found Brice on the couch. He was blue and not moving, Mrs. Price said.

She said she could see him through the swarm of police, but they wouldn't let her hold him. The police explained that he was evidence now, she said.

The only two people in the townhouse with Brice at the time of his death were his aunt and his sister, authorities said.

Mrs. Price said her daughter told her that she had placed a blanket on Brice because his body felt cold.

District Attorney Danny Craig said the 12-year-old is a person of interest in the case.

"I anticipate there will be criminal charges; the justice system is equipped to deal with issues such as mental illness and incompetence. But the case has to be first introduced to the system through criminal charges."

The Department of Family and Children Services also is investigating.

Sgt. Roundtree said the department is releasing limited details because of the sensitive nature of the investigation.

"This is a very tragic case."

Reach Justin Boron and Timothy Cox at (706) 724-0851.