HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – A woman and her boyfriend were taken into custody and charged late Tuesday, two days after the skeletal remains of a child were found inside an apartment in west Harris County. The child’s three surviving siblings were also found in the apartment, which appeared to be abandoned.
The mother of the children, Gloria Y. Williams, 35, has been charged with injury to a child by omission and tampering with evidence (corpse). Her boyfriend, Brian W. Coulter, 31, has been charged with murder in the death of the Williams’ child, whose skeletal remains were found in the apartment, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said. The boy was eight years old when he died.
Earlier Tuesday, authorities ruled the child’s death a homicide.
The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences said the child died from homicidal violence and suffered multiple blunt force injuries.
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The boy’s skeletal remains were found Sunday when his eldest surviving sibling, age 15, called the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and told deputies his brother had been dead for a year and that his body was inside the apartment where he and his surviving brothers, ages 10 and 7, had been living alone. The teen reported his parents had not lived in the apartment for several months.
When deputies responded to the apartment, located at a complex at 3530 Green Crest, they located the teen, his younger brothers, and the skeletal remains he had described.
Deputies noted the young boys appeared malnourished and had physical injuries. All three were taken to hospital to be assessed and treated.
HCSO Sheriff Ed Gonzalez noted the children were living in squalid conditions and it appeared they had been fending for themselves for some time.
“Very horrific situation out here, very tragic,” Gonzalez said during a news conference Sunday. “Been in this business a long time and I had never heard of a scenario like this. It really caught me by surprise.”
Deputies later located the children’s mother, Williams, and her boyfriend. Both were questioned Monday and released later the same day. They have since been detained and charged. Gonzalez said he expects additional charges will soon be filed against the pair.