Stepmother makes first court appearance in stepson's death

JONESBORO - A woman accused of killing her four-year-old stepson made her first court appearance Friday where she told a Clayton County judge she wanted a court-appointed attorney. <br> <br> Twenty-five-year-old Angela Brackob of Forest Park is charged with killing her stepson, Joseph. <br> <br> Police say Joseph died Sunday of blunt force trauma to the abdomen. <br> <br> The boy also had numerous bruises and scrapes all over his body, including an apparent boot tread mark on his stomach. <br> <br> Brackob says she tripped on the boy and accidentally stepped on him after he fell down the stairs in their home. <br> <br> The Division of Family and Child Services has been investigating the Brackob family since 1996. Investigators are gathering information from several counties to learn exactly what incidents have occurred. <br> <br> DFACS has taken two other children of the Brackob family into custody - 4-year-old and 6-year-old stepsisters of the victim.