Baby Boy Dies After Mother’s Boyfriend Admits to Daily Belt Beatings

May 1, 2014

• The Case of Taemor Hicks, 1
• Suspects: Damien Lamont Henderson & Trachell Foster

Houston, TX – A 13-month-old Houston boy has died, and his mother and her boyfriend have been arrested after investigators say the child suffered extensive injuries consistent with ongoing physical abuse.

According to investigators, Trachell Foster, 23, left her son, Taemor Hicks, in the care of her live-in boyfriend, Damien Lamont Henderson, 23, while she attended a job interview around 9 a.m. on Friday.

Shortly after 11 a.m., Henderson called 911 to report that the child had stopped breathing. Houston Fire Department paramedics transported Taemor to Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital, where he was pronounced dead approximately 10 minutes after arrival.

During questioning, investigators noticed injuries on the child’s chest. Henderson initially claimed the marks were burns from a stove but later admitted he had given the toddler a “whupping,” telling investigators he struck him seven to eight times with a belt on the day he died. According to court documents, Henderson also led officers to an air-conditioning vent where he had hidden the belt before calling 911.

Investigators say Henderson admitted that using the belt was not an isolated incident. He reportedly told detectives he struck Taemor with a belt on a daily basis and, at times, hit the toddler with his hands until his hands hurt before continuing with the back of his hand.

Trachell Foster told investigators she had witnessed Henderson strike her son on numerous occasions over the previous two months and admitted the abuse “made her uncomfortable.”

Medical personnel documented numerous injuries throughout the child’s body. Physicians reported injuries to Taemor’s face, lips, chest, and hemorrhaging to the left testicle, as well as extensive trauma to his legs and buttocks. Doctors said portions of the muscle tissue in his legs had died and begun deteriorating, indicating severe injuries that would have made it extremely difficult for him to walk during the final week of his life.

Medical experts also noted that the child’s head injuries would likely have caused permanent brain damage had he survived.

Charges

• Damien Lamont Henderson
  • Injury to a Child
  • Later convicted of Felony Murder with the underlying offense of Injury to a Child
• Trachell Foster
  • Injury to a Child by Omission

SENTENCING UPDATE

Damien Lamont Henderson was later found guilty of felony murder with the underlying offense of injury to a child.

Sentence

• Convicted of Felony Murder
• Underlying offense: Injury to a Child
• Sentenced to life imprisonment

The medical examiner who performed the autopsy told authorities the boy had several injuries, including bruises on his face, a torn upper lip, a hemorrhaged left testicle and cuts across the chest.

APPEAL UPDATE – August 17, 2017

The Fifth Court of Appeals affirmed Damien Lamont Henderson’s conviction and life sentence for the death of 13-month-old Taemor Hicks, rejecting his appeal and leaving his conviction unchanged.

Damien Lamont Henderson argued that the trial court never acquired jurisdiction over his case because the grand jury that returned the indictment was associated with a different Harris County district court than the one in which he was tried.

The appellate court rejected that argument, finding that the indictment had been properly presented to the Harris County District Clerk and filed in the appropriate court. The court explained that Harris County’s criminal district courts routinely assign cases under local administrative rules and that the court which tried Henderson had proper jurisdiction.

The judges further concluded that any issue regarding which district court’s grand jury returned the indictment was merely a procedural matter, not a jurisdictional defect, and that Henderson failed to raise the issue before trial. Because he did not object prior to trial, he waived the argument on appeal.

After reviewing the record, the appellate court found no reversible error and affirmed the conviction.