Kendrick Lee: Youngest brother of murdered 8-year-old saw body covered in cockroaches
Warning: Distressing Content
HOUSTON, TEXAS: Some more horrifying details have emerged in the murder case of eight-year-old Kendrick Lee, who was allegedly killed by his mother’s boyfriend. The court document obtained by the Houston Chronicle allege that the dead body of Kendrick was left to decompose after the November 2020 murder and it was his youngest brother who saw it covered in cockroaches.
The papers also stated that the suspect Brian Coulter not only killed the child but also repeatedly abused his siblings, as recently as a few weeks before they were saved by authorities. Kendrick’s older brother -- 15-year-old Jordan Lee -- was living with two other surviving siblings -- 10 and 7-year-old -- in dreadful conditions for almost a year after their mother Gloria Williams and his boyfriend, Coulter, allegedly left them in March 2021. However, they sometimes used to come to bring insufficient food for the kids. With the boys, the decomposing remains of Kendrick covered in a blanket were also in the house that did not even have electricity.
When the youngest one went to check the corpse, he found cockroaches crawling over it.
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Besides, the official documents stated that the alleged murderer also broke one of the kids' jaw, but he and his girlfriend did not provide any medical assistance or painkillers to him. The child will now reportedly undergo surgery for the injury.
According to earlier reports, neighbours at the Harris County apartment complex told local media they had no idea Jordan had other siblings too. The Houston Chronicle reported that the other boys were either not allowed to go outside or possibly forcibly locked inside the house.
The rotting body of Kendrick was found on Sunday, October 24, after the eldest brother called the police. The teen was also abused and traumatized, as mentioned in the court papers. When officers arrived at the scene, the siblings asked for doughnuts. Harris County Sgt Dennis Wolfford said the boys were “special-needs children” with at least two of them believed to be autistic. “Very sweet children. Very nice. Very well spoken . . . at the same time, that thousand-yard stare, that blankness in the eyes,” Wolfford added.
Jordan reportedly told authorities that he complained about Coulter to his mother in the hope that she would do something, but nothing happened. The teen also believed that Williams would do something about Kendrick’s remains, but that also was ignored. Meanwhile, in her defence the mother claimed that she made attempts to stop Coulter from allegedly abusing her children. Also, when the man fatally beat the boy, she tried to stop him, but could not. After the incident, Coulter later reportedly apologized to Williams and said to her that he had lost temper and pummeled the little boy “until he went to sleep.” The 35-year-old mother also alleged that her boyfriend warned her not to speak to authorities.
Williams has been charged with injury to a child by omission, injury to a child causing serious bodily injury, and tampering with evidence. Her bond amount has been set at $900,000, while Coulter has been charged in the beating death of Kendrick and is being held on $1 million bail.