Mother says she can finally let go of frustration after ex-husband’s guilty plea in son’s death

LIBERTY COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - Grace Witten says she is finally able to let go of some of the frustration and anxiety she has carried for the past four years after her ex-husband pleaded guilty to murdering their 6-month-old son.

James Witten was stationed at Fort Stewart for around six years with his wife, Grace. On Thursday, James pleaded guilty to the murder of their 6-month-old, Bryar Oaks, as well as cruelty to children and aggravated battery, four years after Bryar died.

“I never suspected anything,” Grace Witten said.

Mother describes the day her son was injured

Grace Witten said she was taking a nap when she woke up to Bryar struggling to breathe after suffering blunt force trauma. Her husband told her the baby had accidentally fallen out of his crib.

“I know that he’s lying but I cannot mentally process that right now,” Grace Witten said.

An autopsy showed the damage to Bryar’s brain was intentional. After James Witten’s charges changed but his bond did not, Grace Witten said she felt upset and worried that she was not safe. She said she also suffered from PTSD.

“I was pregnant the whole time too. I laid in bed probably from the middle of May to September,” Grace Witten said.

Second son “kept me going”

In September, Grace Witten got up, she said, not for herself but for her second-born son, Sutton.

“Sutton kept me going, and he needed me, and I worried if I was going to be a good mom to him and I can’t confidently say that I would be here if it wasn’t for him,” Grace Witten said.

During her husband’s guilty plea Thursday, Grace Witten read a statement saying it felt like a release that lifted an immense weight of guilt and frustration from her shoulders.

“It was easier to blame myself to some degree because he hadn’t confessed guilt so it was always ‘is it my fault because I chose to have family with you? Is it my fault, could I have done more?’” Grace Witten said.

Grace Witten said she had not been able to look at pictures of Bryar because of the injustice she felt with his killer still in the state. She said that has now changed.

“I feel like I can enjoy the time that I had with Bryar more and even just like visiting Savannah again, that’s not going to be a thought, I can take Sutton and I can take Lennox, I can take them and show them ‘me and your brother used to play here.’ I’m looking forward to having that with them,” Grace Witten said.

Grace Witten now lives in Kentucky with her two children.