Sumter County woman charged in son's 1997 death

AMERICUS - A Sumter County woman has been charged with murder in the 1997 death of her son, who died from an infection authorities blamed on neglect. <br> <br> Ramona Ellis-Hollis, 38, was arrested Friday after a Sumter County grand jury indicted her on felony and malice murder in the July 1997 death of 16-year-old Raymond Ellis. <br> <br> She remained in the Sumter County Jail Saturday night pending a court appearance. <br> <br> Ellis, who was in a wheelchair and paralyzed since he was hit by a car at 19 months, was the subject of numerous reports of abuse and neglect, according to the Sumter County Department of Family and Children Services. <br> <br> When he was 3, public health officials reported witnessing his mother hit him with her fists. When he was 10, he was found ``covered in burns&#39;&#39; and old scars. And when he was 11, he was left alone in a wheelchair, sitting at a bus stop. <br> <br> In 1994, Raymond&#39;s leg had to be amputated. Doctors said he had developed a massive infection after Ellis-Hollis took her son home prematurely following surgery. By June 1997, doctors were forced to amputate his other leg. <br> <br> The teen&#39;s body was exhumed in March 2000 at Gov. Roy Barnes&#39; request. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation performed an autopsy and found that Raymond died of an infection.