Man Who Beat 8-Year-Old To Death, Abandoned Rotting Corpse With Brothers Faces $1M Bond

Authorities in Harris County, Texas, have arrested a man and his girlfriend after the former allegedly fatally beat the latter's 8-year-old child, whose corpse was abandoned inside an apartment for nearly a year with the woman's three other children, police said.

Brian Coulter, 31, and his girlfriend, Gloria Williams, 35, were arrested Tuesday evening at a public library while they were searching news articles about themselves, 6 ABC reported.

The arrest stemmed from a call police received from William's 15-year-old son on Sunday, claiming that he and his two younger brothers had been abandoned in an apartment in the 3500 block of Green Crest for several months, a report by KHOU 11 said.

Additionally, the teenager claimed his 8-year-old brother had been dead for over a year and his corpse was in a room next to his, according to the outlet.

Responding deputies later went to the third-floor apartment and found the three children alone, as well as the skeletal remains of a small child. Two of the children, aged 7 and 9, allegedly appeared malnourished and showed signs of physical injury.

The unit where the boys were staying reportedly had no furniture, bedding, had a soiled carpet as well as cockroach and fly infestations. An early investigation indicated that the boys may have been locked inside the apartment by Coulter.

Meanwhile, Williams and Coulter lived in a different apartment about 25 minutes away from the children, police said. A severe jaw injury on one of the boys was indicative that the couple occasionally visited the children.

Williams also occasionally provided food through a delivery service, but they consisted of snacks like noodles, chips and soft drinks, according to police.

The surviving boys, who Harris County Sherriff’s Office (HCSO) Sgt. Dennis Wolfford described as "special needs children," were taken to a nearby hospital to be treated. Their 8-year-old brother's death was later ruled a homicide with blunt force injuries, the medical examiner's office said in a more recent story by KHOU 11.

Coulter allegedly beat the child to death between Nov. 20 and 29 last year, police said.

Two of Williams' surviving children provided testimonies to deputies saying Coulter kicked and punched their brother until he stopped moving and had black eyes. He used a blanket to cover the body, which was discovered by Williams the next day.

Williams reportedly told authorities she witnessed the incident and that she tried to stop Coulter. The two later confronted each other, where Coulter allegedly apologized and claimed he kept punching the child "until he went to sleep" because he lost control.

The mother also admitted to knowing that her son died in November 2020, but she did not notify law enforcement because Coulter told her not to do so. Additionally, Williams was allegedly afraid of going to jail and Child Protection Services (CPS) taking away her kids.

Coulter was charged with murder and is being evaluated at a mental health unit following the discovery of the children, as per 6 ABC. He did not appear in court Wednesday morning when a judge read his charges and set his bond at $1 million.

Williams was charged with injury to a child by omission and tampering with evidence (human corpse). Her bond was set at $900,000.

The mother was initially charged with failure to provide medical care and failure to provide adequate supervision, but they were later revised.

Williams could potentially face more charges, according to HCSO Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.

The three surviving boys are now in foster care, according to CPS. They reportedly attended Alief Independent School District schools, but the district claimed they have not seen the children since May of 2020.