HOUSTON, Texas Gloria Yvette Williams, the mother who allowed her boyfriend to fatally beat her 8-year-old son and then forced her three other children to live with his decaying body for an entire year, has been sentenced to 50 years in prison. Williams, 38, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder causing serious bodily injury by omission in the death of her son, Kendrick Lee.
In October 2021, a 15-year-old boy called 911, revealing that he and his younger siblings had been living with Kendrick’s remains in a West Houston home for over a year. After Kendrick died in late 2020, Williams and her boyfriend, 34-year-old Brian Ward Coulter, left the boy’s body covered with a blanket while moving to a different apartment. Investigators learned that Coulter had been the one to beat Kendrick, but Williams failed to intervene or seek help.
During Williams’ sentencing, she expressed regret for allowing her children to live in such disturbing conditions, claiming that she kept them near the body to protect them from Coulter. Despite questioning her boyfriend’s abusive actions, prosecutors showed text messages indicating that she continued to profess her love for him.
Coulter was sentenced to life in prison without parole after being convicted of first-degree murder in Kendrick’s death. The heartbreaking testimony from the surviving children, who witnessed the abuse and saw Kendrick stop blinking during the brutal beating, shed light on the horrific abuse they endured. Prosecutors emphasized Williams’ failure to protect her children and provide them with basic care, including food and shelter.
Assistant District Attorney Celeste Byrom said, “We felt like we had a duty to be Kendrick’s voice and secure justice for him.” This tragic case has left the community shaken, highlighting the urgent need for children’s voices to be heard and protected.
