A mom from Texas has finally been sentenced to prison after forcing her children to live with the body of their dead brother.
In what has been described as one of the most harrowing murders in the United States, a woman has been sentenced to 50 years behind bars for her part in the death of her eight-year-old son.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that Gloria Williams, 38, pleaded guilty back in October to two charges of injury to a child in connection with the death of Kendrick Lee at the family’s Houston apartment.
Earlier this year, her husband, 34-year-old Brian Coulter, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for beating the little boy to death in 2020.
Two of Kendrick's siblings testified during Coulter’s trial, stating that they saw him beating Kendrick on multiple occasions including the day he died.
After Kendrick had passed, Coulter apparently covered the boy's body and lay him in the apartment with the rest of his siblings while he and Williams moved out and into a different apartment, per the release.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez explained that Williams’ 15-year-old son eventually called the police in October 2021 to report that their younger brother "had been dead for a year and his body was in the room next to his".
When the authorities arrived, they were shocked by the conditions the children had been living in.
"The apartment was in a horrible condition. We saw soiled carpet, and no furniture at all. No bedding, no blankets that we could see. We saw roaches and flies and a very bad condition for anyone to live in," Gonzalez said at the time.
Lieutenant Dennis Wilford described Coulter as "manipulative" but still added that Williams took part in the death of her child.
"We expect parents to protect their children, not hurt them, because children really are our most vulnerable victims," Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a release. "This case shocks the conscience not just because a child lost his life, but because of his parents’ complete and total disregard for human life."
However, as part of her plea deal, the 38-year-old requested that her kids don't have to recall the incident again.
"By pleading guilty and waiving the right to a jury trial, the defendant finally acted like a protective mother," said prosecutor Edward A. Appelbaum. "For one day of her children’s lives, she was a good mother."
Williams will have to serve at least half her sentence before she will be eligible for parole, according to PEOPLE.
If you believe a child could be at risk, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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