Murder of Davontae Williams

Coleman in 2006

Coleman was born on October 6, 1975, in Tarrant County, Texas,[1] and she grew up in adverse circumstances. She was conceived when her mother was raped by Coleman's step-grandfather. She was beaten with extension cords by an uncle and was sent from one foster home to another as a child. A child abuse expert later testified that Coleman had been sexually abused as a toddler by her foster parents.[2] Coleman's mother, who nicknamed her "Pig", rarely saw Coleman while she was in foster care. As a preteen, Coleman was stabbed by a cousin.[3] In her teens, she was provided drugs and alcohol by another relative.[2] Coleman had a tenth-grade education, and she had a child when she was 16 years old.[1][3] As a young adult, she went to prison twice, once for burglary and once for possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.[1]

Marcella L. Williams was born in February 1981.[4] Her son Davontae was born prematurely in June 1995; he had developmental disabilities.[5][6] Marcella Williams became the subject of a CPS investigation before she lived with Coleman; the complaint alleged that Marcella was not watching two-month-old Davontae. CPS caseworkers monitored the home for six months.[5]

In 1999, Davontae and his one-year-old sister were removed from the home due to concerns for physical abuse. When CPS investigated, Davontae had thinning hair, bruises on his back, and swelling on his lip and his penis.[7] CPS found that Coleman had abused Davontae, and they placed Davontae and his sister in foster care.[8] Marcella Williams regained custody of the children after a year. In order to get the children back, she agreed to stay away from Coleman.[5] Marcella Williams had a third child in November 2000.[9]

In October 2002, when Davontae was in the first grade, CPS received allegations that he was being physically and medically neglected. CPS caseworkers visited Davontae and his siblings, who denied being abused.[10] Around that time, Coleman and Marcella Williams began hiding Davontae, failing to send him to school or to take him to doctors.[11] They led school officials to believe that they had moved out of the district. CPS investigators went to the Williams home nine times between November 13 and December 30, 2002, to follow up on the October allegations, but Davontae and his family did not appear to be home during any of those visits.[10]

Opening statements in the Coleman trial commenced before Judge Everett Young on June 7, 2006. The prosecution said that Davontae's home was filled with food and that while the rest of the household ate well, the family withheld food from Davontae. Prosecutors highlighted the presence of scars and bruises on Davontae's body, which they said pointed to Davontae being beaten and tied up frequently. His ear appeared to have been partially torn away by the golf club found in the home, the prosecution said. Coleman's defense attorney, Michael Heiskell, accused prosecutors of rushing to blame Coleman for a death that resulted from poor parenting, not murder. Heiskell said that Coleman did not actually live with Marcella and Davontae Williams. He said that Davontae was small because he was born prematurely and that he sometimes had to be restrained because of his hyperactive behavior.[17]

Dr. Daniel Konzelmann, a medical examiner for Tarrant County, testified for the prosecution. He said that Davontae's body was so bruised and scarred that he initially suspected blunt trauma as the cause of death. He stated that Davontae was not fed adequately and that his diet was so deficient in protein that his body had begun to break down fat and muscle; he testified that the lack of protein also made it difficult for Davontae's wounds to heal. Konzelmann said that Davontae had very little fat around his heart, which he said was a highly unusual feature in a child.[18] One of Davontae's sisters, who had been adopted by the time of the trial, testified that Coleman had lived with the family and sometimes tied Davontae up.[19]

Defense witnesses included a physician who testified that Davontae died from aspirating his own vomit, not from malnutrition.[3] A psychological associate who had evaluated Davontae in 1999 said that he had developmental delays which included speech problems, and that he needed to have grown up in a stable environment to develop properly. Addressing the prosecution's opening statement claims, a forensic consultant said that the blood on the golf club represented transfer of blood, not spatter, indicating that Davontae was not hit with the club.[20]

Davontae's first grade teacher at Webb Elementary School in Arlington testified about his behavior. She said that he had seemed capable of learning but that he was highly distractible. She said that because of his behavioral issues, it was often necessary to have him sit next to her in the classroom.[18]

At the end of the trial, the jury deliberated for an hour before convicting Coleman of capital murder.[14] In the punishment phase of the trial, Coleman's attorneys raised several potential mitigating circumstances in an attempt to spare Coleman a death sentence, including the illicit nature of her conception, her early exposure to alcohol and drugs, and the abuse that caused her to end up in foster care. A child abuse expert testified for the defense about the intergenerational effects of abuse.[2] Coleman's lawyers also said that Coleman had bipolar disorder. The jury rejected the mitigating circumstances and sentenced Coleman to the death penalty.[3]