'Very emotionally difficult:' Man charged with murdering girlfriend’s son makes 1st court appearance
HOUSTON - The man charged with murdering his girlfriend’s 8-year-old son, then leaving the boy’s body in an apartment with the child’s three siblings for a year appeared in court on Thursday.
Brian Coulter, 31, is accused of such a heinous crime, even seasoned legal professionals are very much affected by the details.
BACKGROUND: HCSO: 3 children abandoned, skeletal remains of another child found in Harris Co. apartment
"As one of the chief prosecutors in child fatalities, this is the only type of case I deal with. I will say this particular case is such a gross deviation from what we expect humans to behave like," said the chief prosecutor in the Child Fatality Division at the Harris County District Attorney's office, Andrea Beall. "It's been very emotionally difficult and taxing on the investigators, the DA's office."
Going before the judge, Coulter was told he will continue to be held on a $1 million bond. If the bond is lowered, the state has asked to be notified to have a formal hearing on the record. The bond conditions requested by the District Attorney's office were all granted and are outlined here:
- No alcohol or drugs
- No contact with children
- No going within 200 feet of children’s residence
- No contact with co-defendant
- No contact with any minor children
- Must wear GPS monitoring device
MORE: Bond set for mom, her boyfriend charged in murder of boy found in Harris Co. apartment
GRUESOME DETAILS OF KENDRICK'S DEATH
Coulter is charged with murdering his girlfriend Gloria William’s 8-year-old son Kendrick Lee.
In Williams’ Probable Cause hearing, it was revealed Kendrick’s 7- and 10-year-old brothers watched as he was beaten to death.
"He was actually in the room when the co-defendant assaulted his deceased younger brother striking him in the face, feet, buttocks, back and testicles with closed fist and feet," the prosecutor read aloud from court documents.
Kendrick's brothers said Coulter kept beating the boy even after he stopped moving and blinking.
The prosecutor went on to say Williams walked in the room, saw her son dead, cried, argued with Coulter but didn’t report it because, according to the hearing, Coulter told her not to and she was afraid to go to jail.
Gruesome details from child remains found, abandonment case
During Gloria Williams' court appearance, court documents were read aloud that detailed the gruesome and disturbing details of what Williams' sons experienced and witnessed, including the beating death of their 8-year-old brother, whose body rotted while they lived there alone.
Williams was set to appear in court again on Friday for her charges in the case, which include serious bodily injury to a child, injury to a child by omission, and tampering with evidence – a human corpse.
But her appearance will be rescheduled to next week as the presiding judge in the case has recused himself due to personal reasons.
We will find out which court will now handle Williams' and Coulter's case on Friday, according to Beall. She is being held on a $900,000 bond.
SHOWING OFF ON INSTAGRAM
But before his conviction, Coulter was posting all over social media without remorse.
On Instagram, he brags about doing drugs. "I smoke mad weed. I drink mad ****. I just do my fair share of things," Coulter says in a video.
And while Kendrick’s three brothers, 15, 10 and 7 were abandoned and malnourished without meals in the apartment, living with the skeletal remains of their brother since November of 2020, Coulter posted all about the food he was eating. Food he says Williams was cooking for him.
"I don’t know what I want to eat," he says in one video and a female voice answers "Oh, oh I know. Steak and broccoli and cheese and shrimp and mashed potatoes."
'This one affected us:' HCSO officials describe finding skeletal remains, abandoned boys
NEIGHBORS AND ADVOCATES DEMAND JUSTICE
"Nobody should have to live like this and to know I was sitting there and I couldn’t help," says neighbor Karen Pate.
"My son is less than four months from being 8-years-old. When I dropped him off at school today, I gave him an extra long hug," adds neighbor Matt Mouton.
Residents joined the group Mothers Against Child Killers at the apartment complex to say they want Coulter and Williams punished to fullest extent of the law.
RELATED: 'These kids fell through the cracks,' says non-profit Children at Risk
"A mother takes care of her kids. A mother feeds her kids, sends her kids to school. A mother hugs their kids," says Parents Against Predators Founder Sonia Parker with tears in her eyes.
The group is planning a candlelight vigil there Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
THE SURVIVING SIBLINGS
Williams has six children, four boys and two girls.
One of them is a 13-year-old daughter, who has lived with her biological grandmother since she was 2.
Williams has a 17-year-old daughter who has been in CPS custody since she was 15. A relative says the 17-year-old has actually been missing from CPS custody for about a month.
MORE: Relatives of boys found living abandoned with their deceased brother's remains speak out
As for Williams' sons, Alief ISD says the kids haven't been in school since May of 2020.
The three brothers are in CPS custody, including the 10-year-old, who, according to deputies, was beaten by Coulter several weeks ago. His jaw was still swollen Sunday, when the kids were discovered after the 15-year-old finally worked up the courage to call for help.