A Texas couple was arrested and charged with capital murder in connection with the death of their child, Brooklyn. On Friday, the county prison brought D. Campes, 22, into custody with a bond of $300,000. The next day, authorities arrested J. Fencher, 38, and placed him in the county jail without bond.
The allegations arise from an incident that happened in May of last year at a Texas motel. Deputies from the Sheriff’s Office came to do a welfare check and discovered the 4-month-old baby unconscious behind a drawer in the couple’s motel room. The medical examiner determined that the cause of death was suffocation and classified the case as homicide.
During the inquiry, Texas authorities discovered that the couple had been living at the motel for over a year and had allegedly used a drawer as a makeshift sleeping area for their child. According to court documents and witness accounts, her parents would routinely throw her in the drawer and cover it with towels to prevent her from kicking it open. The child’s family member stated that this was not the first time they had placed her there.
When law enforcement arrived, the mother informed them she had fallen asleep, thought the baby was with the father, and awoke hours later to find the infant missing. The victim’s father stated that he had stepped out to go to the grocery and returned to find the drawer slightly open. He stated that he performed CPR on the bed before placing her back inside the drawer with a blanket.
A motel employee reportedly photographed the infant in the drawer and notified management, who phoned the police. Illegal narcotics were also discovered in the room, and the baby’s family member voiced disappointment that no charges were brought at the scene despite toxicology results.
The case was reopened after a follow-up investigation by the Sheriff’s Office Violent Criminal Apprehension Team, which worked with the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Sheriff’s Office. Investigators noted numerous instances of neglect and abuse that contributed directly to the child’s death.
The child’s mother reportedly testified in court that the youngster had been placed in the drawer on multiple occasions so that the parents could spend what the judge characterized as “personal time together.”
Both parents have court appearances scheduled for the coming days. The sheriff applauded the efforts of investigators in filing charges more than a year after the tragedy.