HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — The mother of three brothers found abandoned Sunday in a Houston-area apartment has been arrested, and her boyfriend is facing a murder charge in the death of a fourth child, whose corpse the children co-habitated with for more than a year, authorities confirmed.
The Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Tuesday that the 8-year-old victim, whose remains were found Sunday at CityParc II at West Oaks, died of blunt force injuries, deeming the death a homicide, KHOU reported.
>> Related: Skeletal remains, 3 abandoned children found in apartment near Houston, sheriff says
Earlier reports identified the victim as a 9-year-old boy, but the medical examiner’s office confirmed his age at the time of his death to be eight, KTRK reported.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez confirmed via Twitter just after 8 p.m. Tuesday that the mother’s boyfriend, identified as 31-year-old Brian Coulter, is accused of killing the boy in 2020.
Arrest update for incident at Green Crest: Brian W. Coulter (12-12-89) has been charged in the murder of the complainant. The complainant was 8 years old at the time of his death in 2020. Coulter is the boyfriend of the murdered child’s mother. The mother of the murdered child,
— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) October 27, 2021
The boys’ mother, 35-year-old Gloria Williams, is charged with injury to a child by omission and tampering with evidence (human corpse), KHOU reported.
Gonzalez initially stated that Williams was charged with failure to provide medical care and failure to provide adequate supervision, but those charges were revised, the TV station reported.
Both Williams and Coulter could face additional charges, Gonzalez said.
Investigators confirmed on Monday that the call placed Sunday prompting a welfare check at the apartment complex was placed by the oldest sibling, a 15-year-old boy who had been caring for his 7- and 10-year-old brothers, alongside the remains of their 8-year-old sibling, who had been dead for about a year.
Deputies found the 8-year-old’s skeletal remains under a blanket, KTRK reported.
According to the TV station, investigators believe that Coulter beat the boy to death and then he and Williams moved out, leaving the children to fend for themselves as their brother’s body decomposed.
The 15-year-old told deputies that they had not seen their mother in months, yet the couple had been living in an apartment about 15 minutes away, KTRK reported.
According to the sheriff’s office, all three boys were taken to an area hospital, where doctors determined they were malnourished with injuries. The 7-year-old had facial fractures that will require surgery, the TV station reported.
In a statement issued Monday morning, Child Protective Services confirmed that the agency is seeking emergency custody of all three children and that while the family had a history with CPS, there was no active investigation when the boys were found.
Click here and here to read more about neighbors’ interactions with the boys as their situation deteriorated and to learn more about truancy issues with the children’s school district.
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