In a tragic turn of events that began with a child abduction call, 40-year-old Sylvester Harden Jr. lost his life in Macon, Georgia. On the morning of February 19, 2015, two men, later identified as 23-year-old Seymour Passard and 22-year-old Ceyunta Cater, forced their way into a home on Nisbet Drive. Their target was another man present in the house, who was the father of an 11-year-old girl they proceeded to abduct.
While the girl's father fled out the back door, the armed intruders turned their aggression on Harden, who also resided at the home.
Passard and Cater, wearing ski masks, brutally beat Sylvester Harden Jr. in the head with a firearm. During the assault, the weapon discharged, but no one was struck by the bullet. The two men then fled the scene with the 11-year-old girl in a Chrysler 300, driven by a 25-year-old relative of the child, Yolanda Butler. Four other children were present in the home and witnessed the violent attack on Harden, with some running to a neighbor's house for help. Harden was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition.
The abduction was short-lived, as the child’s grandmother, accompanied by Butler, returned the 11-year-old girl to the scene of the crime, at which point Butler was taken into custody. Authorities later located Passard and Cater with the getaway vehicle at an apartment complex and arrested them. The investigation revealed that the attack was a case of mistaken identity. The assailants were reportedly acting on a false accusation of child molestation against the man who had fled the home. In a cruel twist of fate, they attacked Harden instead.
The following day, on the morning of February 20, 2015, Sylvester Harden Jr. succumbed to the severe head injuries he sustained during the home invasion. Following his death, the charges against Yolanda Butler, Seymour Passard, and Ceyunta Cater were upgraded to murder. They were also charged with five counts of aggravated assault. All three were booked into the Bibb County jail and were denied bond.
