Houston House of Horrors mother and boyfriend lived in the apartment for months with the remains of the eight-year-old boy. They also kept the three remaining siblings in the room with the corpse of the child, as it was alleged in court Monday.
Gloria Williams, 35, appeared in front of a judge. A defense attorney was assigned to her.
Judge Kelli Johnson said that Williams’ current bond totaling $900,000 was insufficient for the charges against her, including injury to a child by omission and tampering with evidence, stemming from the November 2020 beating death of her son Kendrick Lee.
Williams’ boyfriend, Brain Coulter, 31, is charged with felony murder for allegedly punching and kicking the autistic eight-year-old to death, and then leaving his body to rot in the Houston apartment alongside his brothers, ages 15, 10 and 7. He is being held in lieu of $1 million bond.
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Gloria Williams, 35, was seen in Houston court Monday. She had a lawyer assigned to her as she faces the charges stemming out of the death of her 8-year old son.
A judge said Williams’ current bond totaling $900,000 was insufficient for the charges against her: injury to a child by omission and tampering with evidence
Prosecutors claim that Kendrick, 8 (pictured 2ndR, front row), was kicked to death and beaten to death in Nov 2020.
KTRK reported that Williams’ new lawyer asked for more time from the judge to review the case and decide whether to increase her bond amount.
Monday’s hearing heard that Williams and Coulter had lived in the CityParc II apartment with Kendrick’s body until March. The woman’s three children were left without supervision.
The children claimed that Kendrick’s remains were in their bedroom, while Williams and Coulter still lived with them.
Williams allegedly ordered groceries and paid rent for the apartment to keep Kendrick’s corpse from being discovered.
KPRC reports that Williams will be back in court to discuss her bond later this week.
Williams spoke out in jail to KHOU11 about her feelings. She said she was sorry, but did not deny knowing Kendrick was deceased. A probable cause statement that was read in court last week alleged that Williams admitted to investigators that she knew Kendrick had passed away, but that she was afraid of reporting it to the police.
Kendrick was left to rot in his bedroom under a blanket, with full view of his brothers. Williams and Coulter moved on to another apartment.
Williams answered when Williams was asked why she had left her sons, one of whom was severely injured by Coulter’s punch to the face, and said: “I checked on them every other week.”
Sheriff’s deputies rescued the children on Sunday after Williams’ 15 year-old son called 911. The three boys were all described as malnourished having had to survive for months on food donated by concerned neighbors and snacks provided by their mother.
One of Williams’ grandmothers had earlier described Williams as’very unstable’ and accused her not protecting her children.
Last Wednesday, authorities claimed that Coulter had punched and kicked Kendrick, killing him around Thanksgiving Day last year. Williams refused to report him, claiming that she was afraid for her children’s safety and would end up in jail.
Coulter and Williams were both arrested at a library a week earlier. They were said have been searching for news articles online about their own case.
During Williams’ previous court appearance, a prosecutor read aloud a statement of probable cause, which revealed that three of the mother’s surviving children witnessed their brother’s fatal beating.
The children claimed that Coulter had struck the eight-year old with closed fists, kicked him in the face, feet, and buttocks.
Deputies were told by Williams’ 7-year old son that Coulter continued to kick Kendrick, who was on the ground and not moving, while looking at his younger brother, who was in the same room.
According to the prosecutor, Kendrick lost his ability to blink after his eyes turned black. Coulter covered him in a blue blanket.
Williams entered the bedroom to check up on her son, and when she saw that he was dead in there, Williams began to cry and fight with Coulter.
Investigators learned that her 15-year-old son believed his mother would call the police to report on Coulter. However,’she never did. She then moved out of her apartment, leaving her children and brother with the rotting corpse.
Brian Coulter, 31 years old, has been charged for felony murder. Williams is his girlfriend.
Kendrick’s brothers, who were all left with his corpse, until October 24, were left behind.
Police officers discovered Williams’ three remaining sons, aged 15, 10 and 7, living with their brother at the CityParc II apartment building in Houston.
William’s 10-year-old brother told investigators that Williams arrived at the apartment at a later time and took the blanket off Kendrick. When Williams returned, she discovered that Kendrick’s body, feet, and teeth had become a skeleton and that his hair was missing. According to some reports, his decomposing body was covered in cockroaches.
The 10-year-old claimed that Coulter would beat his father, hitting him on the stomach, face, stomach and legs. He also broke his jaw three weeks earlier.
Police arrived at the house on Sunday to find the child with a swelling jaw. The boy claimed that his mother knew of the injury but did nothing to seek or receive medical assistance for him at the hospital the next day.
Authorities stated that the 10-year old will need surgery to correct his facial fracture.
Williams told detectives that she found Kendrick being beaten by Coulter in her bedroom at Thanksgiving 2020. She stopped the attack when she was questioned.
Last week, Coulter was arrested by police. He is accused of punching and kicking Kendrick to death and injuring his younger brother.
Williams claimed that she didn’t report her son’s death because she was afraid
Williams discovered Kendrick’s death the next day and claimed she confronted her boyfriend. He’stated that he was sorry and punched him. And continued punching him until his bed fell asleep.
Williams allegedly confessed to investigators that she knew that her son was dead a while back, but she didn’t report to police because Coulter had warned her not to and because she was afraid that her children might be taken away and she would end up in jail.
The children lived in deplorable conditions for months as they waited for their mother to call authorities to report that their brother had been beaten to death and left to rot. Investigators believe that the mother never called and that the oldest surviving son (15 years old) finally overcame the ‘absolute terror’ and called the authorities on Sunday.
According to reports, he texted his mother shortly before he contacted police, telling him he couldn’t bear it anymore.