It's been three days since three children living with the skeletal remains of their slain brother were rescued from a west Harris County apartment. Their rescue has gripped the nation's attention and resulted in countless lingering questions.
Here's what we know about the case so far:
Neighbors watch from adjacent apartments as law enforcement officials investigate a scene where, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, three juveniles were found living alone along with the skeletal remains of another juvenile, in a third floor apartment at the CityParc II at West Oaks Apartments on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021, at in west Houston.
Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer
Mugshots of Gloria Y. Williams, 35, and her boyfriend Brian W. Coulter, 31, are displayed after a press conference at the Harris County Sheriff’s Department in Houston on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. Williams and Coulter left her children in an apartment for over a year.Elizabeth Conley/Staff photographer
The mother routinely had food delivered to the apartment and neighbors helped the children with food and charging their phones. The children were allegedly abandoned in March when the mother and her boyfriend moved out of the apartment, leaving Kendrick’s body to decompose under a blanket.
MORE ON RESCUE: Abandoned kids lived for weeks with no power, relied on neighbor for food and phone charging
The children's mother, Gloria Williams, 35, and her boyfriend, Brian Coulter, 31, have been arrested and charged.
Harris County Sheriff's Office
MORE ON RESCUE: Abandoned Houston-area kids witnessed brother's death, watched body decompose for over a year
Here's what we know about the case so far:
The discovery
Three children, ages 7, 10 and 15, were found abandoned Sunday afternoon at 3530 Green Crest Drive at the CityParc II West Oaks Apartments. The 15-year-old placed a 911 call around 4 p.m. stating his 8-year-old brother Kendrick Lee had been dead inside their apartment for over a year.Neighbors watch from adjacent apartments as law enforcement officials investigate a scene where, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, three juveniles were found living alone along with the skeletal remains of another juvenile, in a third floor apartment at the CityParc II at West Oaks Apartments on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021, at in west Houston.
Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer
Conditions inside the home
The children were found in deplorable conditions that seemed "too horrible to be real,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said Wednesday. The apartment they were staying in had no power for weeks and was riddled with soiled carpet, roaches and flies; there was no furniture, bedding or blankets; they were malnourished and forbidden from leaving the apartment.The mother routinely had food delivered to the apartment and neighbors helped the children with food and charging their phones. The children were allegedly abandoned in March when the mother and her boyfriend moved out of the apartment, leaving Kendrick’s body to decompose under a blanket.
MORE ON RESCUE: Abandoned kids lived for weeks with no power, relied on neighbor for food and phone charging
Child's cause of death
The 8-year-old child found dead in the apartment was killed by homicidal violence with multiple blunt force injuries in November 2020. The mother's boyfriend, Brian Coulter, is reported to have beaten the child to death.Mother, boyfriend arrested
The mother, Gloria Williams, 35, was arrested Tuesday on charges of injury to a child by omission and tampering with evidence. Coulter was also arrested on Tuesday and has been charged with murder in the death of the child. Coulter is being held on a $1 million bail, while Williams was held on a combined $900,000 bail on the charges.The children's mother, Gloria Williams, 35, and her boyfriend, Brian Coulter, 31, have been arrested and charged.
Harris County Sheriff's Office
School involvement
Three of the children were enrolled in Alief ISD until May 2020. School officials attempted to visit the home in September 2020 to try and return the children to classes but were unsuccessful. A 2019 truancy case against the mother for her youngest child's lack of attendance at Holmquist Elementary School was later dismissed due to COVID reasons.Where the children are now
The children are being held in Child Protective Services custody. Weeks before their rescue, Coulter returned to the apartment and punched one of the children, authorities said. Police determined that child never received medical treatment and needed jaw surgery.MORE ON RESCUE: Abandoned Houston-area kids witnessed brother's death, watched body decompose for over a year