Mother, boyfriend charged in beating death of toddler in North Harris Co.: HCSO
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - A mother and her boyfriend are behind bars after admitting to beating a 2-year-old child in North Harris County on Tuesday.
Harris County Sheriff’s Office Homicide units were contacted by the Pct. 4 Constables Office in reference to a child death.
Authorities said 2-year-old Tevin Jefferson was taken to Houston NW Hospital by his mother, Darrielle Williams.
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Tevin was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after his arrival at the emergency room, authorities said.
The report stated that the child had suffered obvious trauma to the head that was not consistent with the explanation that was given by the mother, which was that the child had fallen in the bathtub.
The mother’s boyfriend, Johvonte Johnson, who was not reported to have been present at the time of the incident, showed up at the hospital.
After authorities interviewed both Darrielle Williams and Johvonte Johnson, they determined their stories to be inconsistent with the facts observed during the investigation.
Authorities said that Darrielle Williams and Johvonte Johnson eventually admitted to fabricating the story about the child falling while with his mother.
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Johnson admitted to beating the child causing the child to fall and strike his head, which caused him to become unresponsive.
Johnson, who authorities said is not the child’s biological father, took the unresponsive child to the mother’s place of business and conspired with her to fabricate the story about the injuries.
On Thursday, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the autopsy conducted by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences showed Tevin died of blunt force trauma, and he also suffered from multiple injuries which were in various states of healing.
Following the autopsy results, the sheriff said a charge of murder had been accepted by the Harris County District Attorney's Office and was in the process of being filed against Johnson.
Williams is charged with injury to a child with serious bodily injury.
Sheriff Gonzalez called Tevin's death a "heartbreaking tragedy".
Bond was set for both Wednesday evening at $50,000 each.