A Texas mother has pleaded guilty to charges connected to the gruesome death her youngest son suffered before she and her boyfriend left his decomposing body in a Houston apartment with his brothers for a whole year.
Gloria Yvette Williams pleaded guilty last week to causing serious bodily injury by omission in the death of her son, 8-year-old Kendrick Lee, Law&Crime reported.
Her boyfriend, Brian Ward Coulter, was found guilty of capital murder in the boy’s death and was sentenced in April to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors pinpointed the date of Kendrick’s death to sometime between October and November 2020. His skeletal remains weren’t found until October 2021.
Kendrick’s eldest brother was the one who called 911 about the body. He told dispatchers how his brother had “been dead for a while” and that he and his three younger siblings were left at the apartment alone.
Williams and Coulter had moved out of the apartment about five months after Kendrick’s death and abandoned the other boys to live there in squalor, without electricity or beds to sleep on, according to prosecutors. The boys testified the couple would return every few weeks to drop off food. Coulter would beat the younger boys during those visits.
One of his brothers testified that he was in the room when Coulter beat Kendrick to death.
“I saw (Coulter) beat (Kendrick) up. (Coulter) used his fists,” the boy said, adding that he saw Kendrick stop moving and blinking at some point during the beating before Coulter put a blue blanket over his body.
After deputies were finally called, they found Kendrick’s remains at the home on Oct. 24, 2021. Investigators described the scene inside the apartment as horrific. One said the apartment was filled with roaches and a distinct smell.
Coulter and Williams were arrested at a local library two weeks after authorities found Kendrick’s body.
Prosecutors accused Williams of failing to give Kendrick suitable food, shelter, and medical care. The 38-year-old will be sentenced in November. She faces up to 55 years in prison.
“No matter who you are, if you’re a human being, the facts of this case would shake you to the core. It’s a horrific act,” prosecutor Edward A. Appelbaum stated.
Williams’ actions have led to disdain from the public, with some calling for her to receive the maximum sentence.
“No heart, give her the 55-year sentence,” one person wrote in response to a news article about Williams’ guilty plea. “Disgusting,” another wrote.
