Pattern of Harm

A 2-year-old boy, Thomas Sullivan was beaten up so severely by his mother’s boyfriend that he’s been left in a vegetative state where he can feel nothing but pain, said the family.

Thomas’s 3-year-old sister, Amery Sullivan, also suffered similar abuse and sustained multiple injuries to her stomach as well as fractures to her pelvis and ribs. Sullivan told the police that the 3-year-old had been kicked in the stomach and had to undergo kidney surgery to repair her organs.

The children were taken from St. Luke’s to Texas Children’s Hospital because of the severity of their injuries. in Houston in September 2018 for his injuries resulting from the abuse. The toddler suffered from severe head trauma, a lacerated liver, multiple fractures, and burns. Doctors say the child will endure permanent mental and physical disabilities due to the abuse.
Detectives, after consulting with hospital staff, quickly realized the children’s injuries were not in line with Watson’s story, they said in an arrest warrant affidavit.

The children’s mother, Denise Rae Watson, 26 told detectives she and her boyfriend, Adam Thomas, 28 had been dating and living together for about six weeks. Hospital nurses told detectives some of Watson’s children’s injuries, specifically some bone fractures, likely happened about four weeks before their trip to the hospital.

While at the hospital with Watson and the children, detectives asked if they could look at her cell phone. She said yes but asked to call Thomas first. Detectives said they saw Watson delete a text message off her phone as she was using it.

When detectives finally got a hold of her phone, they saw a text message from Thomas instructing Watson to tell authorities that the children received their injuries by falling down the stairs. In another text, he told her to say some of her children’s injuries were self-inflicted and to say her dogs caused some of the injuries, court documents show.

Detectives also found a list denoting other reasons why the children could have injuries inside Thomas’s work truck, according to court documents.
Thomas denied injuring the children. When detectives confronted him about the list they found inside his truck, court records indicate Thomas started crying and became reserved, ultimately ending the interview with detectives.
Watson told detectives she was untruthful with them and hospital staff because she was afraid of losing her children, court documents indicate. Her court-appointed attorney, Nicole Czajkoski, previously stated she believes Thomas was the one who hurt the children.

Thomas’s aunt, Sarah Sullivan, told the media that her nephew is only responsive to pain. “[Thomas] breathes on his own, and then he stops. He’s not doing well. He’s going to live, but they said we need to prepare for him to be in this state for the rest of his life,” she told the news media.

Police arrested Adam Thomas, the boyfriend of the children’s mother, last autumn. They also discovered that the 28-year-old had a prior history of abusing and burning other young children who were similar in age to Amery and Thomas.

Investigators said Adam tried to claim the siblings’ injuries were sustained through “a series of accidents, such as falling down the stairs, falling off a toy wagon or playing too hard on a slip-and-slide at a birthday party.” They believe the abuse had occurred over several weeks.

Police said he also conspired with the children’s mother, Watson, to lie to police about the abuse and even wrote a script detailing the types of explanations for the children’s injuries.

The 26-year-old mother eventually cooperated with the police, testified against her boyfriend, and admitted to authorities about failing to seek care for the siblings.