John Jefferson
Left: Gloria Williams. Right: Kendrick Lee (Harris County District Attorney’s Office).
A Texas mother stood by and did nothing to protect her 8-year-old son from her boyfriend’s fatal beating and left the boy’s siblings to live with his decomposing body for a year, authorities say.
Gloria Yvette Williams, 38, pleaded guilty last week to causing serious bodily injury by omission in the death of her son Kendrick Lee. A judge found her boyfriend, 34-year-old husband Brian Ward Coulter guilty of first-degree murder in April and sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole after a five-day bench trial.
Shocked detectives began their investigation in October 2021 when a then-15-year-old boy called 911 to say he and his siblings, then ages 7 and 10, had been living with Kendrick’s body in a west Houston home for a year. Investigators later learned that after Kendrick’s death sometime in late 2020, Coulter and Williams covered the boy’s body with a blue blanket and then moved to another apartment, leaving the kids behind. Cops arrested the pair a couple weeks after the 15-year-old’s 911 call.
The siblings testified that they saw Coulter repeatedly beating Kendrick while he was still alive. The youngest brother told the judge about how he watched Kendrick’s eyes until he stopped blinking during the beating.
“The death of Kendrick Lee was so tragic, and because of the fact that for so long there was no one to speak up for him, we felt like we had a duty to be his voice,” said assistant district attorney Celeste Byrom after Coulter’s conviction. “It was important that we were able to secure justice for him.”
Said co-counsel Edward A. Appelbaum: “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.”
Williams’ charges accused her of failing to protect Kendrick and give him proper medical care, food and shelter. As part of her plea, she faces up to 55 years in prison when she’s sentenced on Nov. 11.
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