Mother of man accused of killing Nassau Bay police sergeant says her ‘child is innocent until proven guilty'

HOUSTON – The mother of a man accused of killing Nassau Bay Sgt. Kaila Sullivan said her son’s actions were not intentional.

For the first time, Tiffany Henderson is breaking her silence and sharing her thoughts with KPRC 2. She is currently out on bond after being charged with hindering an apprehension, a third degree felony.

Police said Tiffany Henderson and her boyfriend helped her son evade police. Her son, 21-year-old Tavores Henderson was charged with capital murder.

“My child is innocent. He’s innocent until proven guilty,” she said.

On Tuesday, Sgt. Sullivan and another officer were in the process of arresting Tavores Henderson when he broke free, hopped in his Jeep and then proceeded to run over Sullivan, dragging her and killing her, according to Harris County deputies.

The Accusations

After a nearly two-day manhunt, Tavores Henderson was captured on Heritage Trail Thursday, after deputies said they received dozens of Crimestoppers tips.

Later, Tiffany Henderson and her fiancee, Geoffrey Wheeler, were also taken into custody and charged Friday with hindering the apprehension of a felon. Investigators said Tiffany Henderson had initially told police that she didn’t know Tavores Henderson. Investigators said that Tiffany Henderson and Wheeler shuttled Tavores Henderson to a hotel after Sullivan died. Police said Tiffany eventually returned home where investigators were surrounding her home looking for her son.

When Tiffany Henderson told investigators that she didn’t know where her son was, investigators showed her surveillance video from the hotel, which they claimed shows Tiffany Henderson, Wheeler and Tavores Henderson at the hotel after Sullivan died.

Tiffany Henderson’s response

“Police are saying a lot of things. Did they see (Tavores Henderson) at the hotel with me?” Tiffany Henderson said. “(Tavores Henderson) wasn’t there with me. (Investigators) have surveillance video of me, my fiancee and someone else, another individual, not Tavores.”

When asked about her statements to police about not knowing Tavores and his whereabouts, Tifanny Henderson said she told investigators something else.

“I said (to investigators) that I will speak to them when I come home,” Tiffany Henderson said. “'I’m at my job and my business. I will speak to you when I get home. I’m at work.'”

‘Have mercy on my son’

Henderson maintained that God knows their innocence. She said she is not worried about her charges, but worried about her son.

“God have mercy on (my son) because it was not intentional,” Tiffany Henderson said.

"My child is a good child. My child grew up in a good family, in a great family. After my mom passed last year, he's been going through a lot," Tiffany Henderson said.

Tiffany Henderson denied the accusations from the police regarding her son’s charges and her charges.

Tiffany Henderson said her son has been going through a lot and had been suffering from mental health issues since he was a child. She said his mental health worsened when her mother died last year. She said Tavores stopped taking his medicine for a year.

“The day of this incident, I had just taken him back to the psych doctor to get him back on his meds. They wanted to get him back into the psychiatric hospital. Me, as a mother, said no because he was crying about the needles and being locked up in there, and I said no, and I feel bad because this happened,” Tiffany Henderson said.

She said police can allege what they want, but she denied knowing where Henderson was and said she was at a hotel with her boyfriend and another man who was not Tavores. She said she is not concerned about her own charges. She is depending on God to clear their names. She said as a mother, she hasn’t eaten in four days, but she said she will continue to push through.

What’s next for Tiffany Henderson

"It's painful. It's hurtful, but then I had to let it all go. Somebody that I have faith in and trust in," Tiffany Henderson said.

The mother also sent her condolences to the Sullivan family.

“My condolences to her family. I’m sorry,” Tiffany Henderson said. “I hate that they are going through this. (Losing) their daughter, their loved one.”

Tiffany Henderson, Wheeler, and her son are due back in court Dec. 16.