Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing.
A mother who made her children live in squalor alongside their deceased brother has been sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Gloria Williams's eight-year-old son Kendrick Lee died in 2020, and his body remained in his family's Texas-based apartment for over a year after his passing.
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The young boy's stepfather, Brian Coulter, was sentenced in April to life in prison without parole after being convicted of capital murder for killing him.
The 34-year-old is said to have beat the young boy to death.
While Coulter was charged with murder, Williams pleaded guilty to injury to a child causing serious bodily harm - a first-degree felony.
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Kendrick’s body was covered with a blue blanket and lay in the apartment for over a year while his siblings were forced to stay there with the remains, say police.
It wasn't until one of his brothers called the police that the authorities learnt of the horrifying ordeal.
When officers arrived at their home in October 2021, only Kendrick's skeletal remains were found.
As well as having to live alongside their dead sibling, reportedly the three kids (aged 15, 10, and seven) were living in a soiled, roach-infested apartment, The Independent reports.
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They were also malnourished and had been left to fend for themselves for some time.
Speaking after Williams' sentencing earlier this week, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said: "We expect parents to protect their children, not hurt them, because children really are our most vulnerable victims.
"This case shocks the conscience not just because a child lost his life, but because of his parents’ complete and total disregard for human life."
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Two of Kendrick's siblings testified against their mother during her trial and confirmed that Coulter repeatedly beat Kendrick when he was alive.
It was after the eight-year-old's murder that their mom and stepdad moved to a new apartment, leaving the three boys and their dead sibling to live in an unfurnished apartment.
Speaking about the state of the apartment they were left in, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez told reporters back in 2021, as per PEOPLE: "The apartment was in a horrible condition. We saw soiled carpet, no furniture at all. No bedding, no blankets that we could see. We saw roaches and flies and a very bad condition for anyone to live in."
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Before her sentencing, Williams had waived her right to a jury trial after pleading guilty to the charges she was facing.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues or want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives calls from throughout the United States, Canada, US Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico.
Niamh Shackleton