Mother of abandoned Houston children speaks

The mother who is facing charges after her 8-year-old son died and her other children were left home alone in the apartment where the boy’s remains were discovered is speaking to the media.

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Gloria Williams told KHOU, “I’m sorry. I didn’t do it.”

Williams is facing charges of injury to a child by omission and tampering with evidence (human corpse), while her boyfriend Brian Coulter is charged with the murder of Williams’ son, Kendrick Lee.

Both were arrested this week in a case that has shocked the nation. The skeletal remains of a child were found in an apartment where three children were found living alone in an unfurnished apartment that had roaches, flies and filthy carpeting, NBC News reported.

Williams told KHOU that she didn’t know her son was dead, but investigators said she altered or concealed his body to get rid of the evidence.

>> Previous coverage: Sheriff: Abandoned kids lived in ‘unspeakable’ conditions after brother killed by mother’s boyfriend

Williams’ 15-year-old son called the Harris County Sheriff’s Department to report that his brother had been dead for a year and left in the apartment, CBS News reported.

The two younger children told authorities that they saw Coulter hit and kick Kendrick in the face and other parts of his body, according to court documents, NBC News reported.

“Brian Coulter continued to stare at (Kendrick) as he kicked him. (The 7-year-old) said (Kendrick’s) eyes were black and he stopped blinking during the assault. (The 7-year-old) said they pulled back the covers and saw (Kendrick) was really dead and saw roaches everywhere on him,” court records said, according to NBC News.

>> Previous coverage: Mother, boyfriend charged after child’s remains found in Texas apartment with abandoned siblings

Family members told authorities that they didn’t know that Kendrick had died and that the children were abandoned, KPRC reported.

“The 15-year-old was just absolutely afraid and was basically hoping or relying on his mother to at some point contact law enforcement and advise of his deceased brother in the house,” Sgt. Dennis Wollford, supervisor of the homicide unit investigating the case, said Wednesday. “That didn’t happen, and I think after a year’s time the 15-year-old boy finally said, ‘Enough is enough,’ and that’s when he decided to contact law enforcement.”

Gonzalez said the boys appeared to have been badly traumatized by what they experienced. All three were malnourished, and one of the younger boys had an injury to his jaw that the sheriff said would require surgery.

>> Previous coverage: Skeletal remains, 3 abandoned children found in apartment near Houston, sheriff says

Neighbors helped feed the children and Williams did provide the children with food, investigators said.

The children are now in the care of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, officials said.

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