Texas Mother Pleads Guilty to Abandoning Children, Leaving Them to Live with Deceased Brother's Body

 

A Texas woman, Gloria Williams, has pleaded guilty to charges related to the tragic death of her 8-year-old son and the abandonment of her other three children, who were left to live with their brother's decaying body for over a year. Williams, 38, admitted to two counts of injury to a child in connection with the case, as reported by KPRC, a Houston NBC affiliate.

The disturbing situation came to light on October 24, 2021, when Jordan, the eldest brother, called 911 to report that his younger brother, Kendrick, had been dead in their apartment for more than a year, and their mother had not been living with them. According to authorities, Kendrick died at the age of 8, and his brothers, aged 15, 10, and 7 at the time, had been living in the apartment alongside his decomposing body.

The children testified that Williams' boyfriend, Brian Coulter, had fatally beaten Kendrick. They described how Coulter viciously kicked and punched Kendrick, causing his death. The youngest brother witnessed the beating and recalled watching as Kendrick’s eyes turned black and he stopped blinking. Coulter allegedly attacked Kendrick for drinking all the water in the room, according to Houston's Fox affiliate, KRIV.

After Kendrick died, his body was reportedly covered with a blanket and left in a bedroom, where officers later found it in a severely decomposed state, reduced to skeletal remains. Bugs had infested the body, and the date of death was listed as November 20, 2020. Williams continued living in the apartment with the body until March 2021, when she moved in with Coulter, abandoning her other children to fend for themselves.

Despite Kendrick's death, Williams continued to collect $2,000 a month in government assistance for three disabled children, including Kendrick. Prosecutors revealed that this money allowed her to maintain two separate apartments, one of which she shared with Coulter. When police arrived at the apartment where the children were living, they found it in appalling condition—no furniture, filthy carpets, and infested with roaches. The children reported that Williams and Coulter would occasionally drop off food, but Coulter would often physically abuse them during these visits.

In stark contrast, Williams and Coulter were found living comfortably in a fully furnished apartment 25 minutes away, stocked with groceries.

Kendrick's death was ruled a homicide due to blunt-force trauma, according to the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office. Coulter has already been sentenced to life in prison for Kendrick's murder. Williams faces charges for failing to protect her children from abuse, failing to provide food and medical care for Kendrick, and attempting to conceal evidence of the crime.

In a 2021 interview with KHOU from jail, Williams denied knowing that her son had died in the apartment, contradicting earlier statements she made to investigators. Authorities said Williams had admitted to knowing about the beating and complied with Coulter’s demands to keep quiet, fearing Child Protective Services would take her other children away and that she would be arrested.

Williams' sentencing is set for November 11. The children's paternal grandmother, Melody Robinson, revealed that a 17-year-old daughter had previously asked to move in with her, tired of witnessing Coulter's abuse of her younger siblings. When she tried to intervene, Williams reportedly threw her out of the house.

This case has shocked the public, shedding light on the harrowing conditions the children endured and the deep failures in their protection.