John Jefferson
Background: Emmit Eugene Carter appears before a judge in Houston, Texas on Aug. 19, 2024, with his lawyer, Will Vaughn, to his right (KHOU/YouTube). Inset: Emmit Eugene Carter (Harris County Sheriff’s Office).
A former assistant dean for Lone Star College in Texas has been arrested and charged in the murder of his 6-month-old son — but his attorney has raised questions about the timing and nature of the child’s numerous injuries.
Court records reviewed by Law&Crime on Tuesday show Houstonian Emmit Eugene Carter, 38, was arrested on Aug. 16 and charged with murder after police said he struck his infant son “with a blunt object” and “against a blunt object” in July 2023.
A criminal complaint also alleges Carter shook the child — identified only as M.C. in records — very hard with his hands.
Local ABC affiliate KTRK reported that the infant received care at the Texas Children’s Hospital but died of his injuries within four days. Jail records show Carter is being held on a $300,000 bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 16.
KTRK reported that the reason charges were filed over a year after the 6-month-old died was due to an abundance of caution being taken by prosecutors as they waited for an autopsy report to be completed. According to Assistant District Attorney Edward Appelbaum, the completed autopsy report confirmed the baby was injured by either a “blunt object, blunt instrument, or even violent acceleration/deceleration forces.”
In records underpinning the warrant for Carter’s arrest, prosecutors said the child was struck with such force it caused a “bobble head motion” and “unresponsiveness.” The autopsy revealed trauma to the child’s head, ribs and face.
Investigators say Carter was the sole caregiver for his son at the time of his injuries. The baby’s mother was out of town, leaving the father and son alone together.
Will Vaughn, Carter’s attorney, spoke to Law&Crime by phone on Tuesday.
Vaughn said Carter retained his services in August 2023 as police were investigating the death of M.C. Vaughn said Carter was “unexpectedly being contacted by law enforcement” and had agreed to cooperate with county investigators and to be interviewed by police.
When Carter spoke to police in February, Vaughn said the former dean of student success thought “that was it” until he was abruptly arrested on Aug. 16.
Now Carter is detained and Vaughn says he is working on getting the Houston man’s bond reduced again. Vaughn was able to convince the judge to drop it from $600,000 to $300,000 during his initial court appearance.
Vaughn say he is confident his client is innocent and noted that there are a significant number of questions he has about the sequence of events leading up to M.C.’s death.
For one, Vaughn said, since the death of M.C., the child’s mother “left town” and “it seems as though she was pushing for cremation” of the baby “without having a whole funeral or without a say” from Carter.
The defense lawyer says he is still in the process of receiving discovery and reviewing evidence but he told Law&Crime that he plans on diving into it “at great lengths,” especially since the case contains a lot of specific information about injuries and causes of injuries inflicted on M.C.
“Right now, it looks like there are two main concerns: [M.C.] had multiple fractures, including broken ribs and they were in all different phases of healing when he was brought to the hospital,” Vaughn said.
The defense lawyer said on the night the child died, Carter woke up to the sound of the baby choking so he did “back percussions,” or light pounding on the baby’s back.
“The thought among the state is whatever he did resulted in broken ribs. But they were in the healing process. The other major concern we have is brain swelling and bleeding,” Vaughn said. “[M.C.] may have been herniating. That’s a big mystery.”
Vaughn says the former Lone Star College employee was arrested and charged simply because he was the only person taking care of M.C. when the choking incident happened.
“It’s hard to believe all of these injuries happened in the 23 hours he was in Dr. Carter’s direct care [and the baby’s mother was out of town],” Vaughn said.
The defense lawyer also extolled Carter’s character, saying the man had no negative background with a 9-year-old child from another relationship. He and that child’s mother co-parent amicably and there’s been no history of violence, Vaughn said.
“From my side of things, it looks like a really tragic thing with a lot of unanswered questions and it seems as though the state, government or law enforcement want to blame somebody,” Vaughn said.
Prosecutors did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday.
The defense lawyer said he is not aware of whether police interviewed M.C.’s mother, but from what he has seen, he said, so far, she was “not really considered a responsible potential party and not interviewed.”
Carter has not had any contact with M.C.’s mother since the child’s passing. He filed for divorce shortly after M.C. died.
Carter has a master’s degree and holds a Ph.D in higher education. He worked in higher education for 20 years. He was terminated by the college after his arrest, according to local CBS affiliate KHOU.
“In all my dealings with Dr. Carter, he has been honest and up front. He’s a man of faith and he’s very at peace with his story and what actually happened. The fact that we are here now having to answer to this horrible tragedy was something I hoped he wouldn’t have to go through,” Vaughn said Tuesday.
If convicted, Carter could face anywhere from five to 99 years in prison.
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