HOUSTON — The former in-laws of Gloria Williams, the Houston woman charged in connection with her 8-year-old son's death, say they were shocked by what happened.
An attorney for Carolyn Towner said Williams married her brother in 2017 after meeting him at a Houston homeless shelter where he was living after he was released from prison. They say Williams was also living there with four of her children, including Kendrick Lee, the little boy who was beaten to death last November.
Wayne Towner and Williams got married in October of 2017 and they all moved in together, attorney Jennine Hovell-Cox said in a statement Wednesday.
During that time until Towner's death in 2019, he was actively involved in all four children's lives, especially Kendrick's, according to his sister.
"Wayne cared for and loved all four of Ms. Williams’ children, as if they were his own," Hovell-Cox said.
The attorney said Towner's sister and other family members also bonded with the children.
"The Towner family is in shock as to the recently discovered events surrounding the living conditions of Ms. Williams’ surviving children and is grieving the loss of Kendrick," she said. “We are praying for all of the family members of all of the boys. We pray that those responsible for Kendrick’s death are held accountable, and that somehow his brothers are able to heal from the trauma they have been subjected to at the hands of those in charge of protecting them."
Williams' boyfriend, 31-year-old Brian Coulter, is charged with murdering little Kendrick. The victim's brothers told deputies that Coulter repeatedly beat and kicked Kendrick until he died.
Coulter and Williams lived in the apartment with the boy's remains for five months before leaving the other three boys, ages 15, 10 and 7, to fend for themselves, according to HCSO Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.
In a jailhouse interview with KHOU 11 last week, Williams admitted the children were left alone but said she checked on them "every two weeks."
Williams is charged with injury to a child, injury to a child by omission and tampering with a human corpse. She denies the charges.
"I'm sorry. I didn't do it," Williams told KHOU 11 reporter Grace White.
The 35-year-old remains jailed on a $900,000 bond, but her attorney will ask the judge to lower it in a hearing on Friday. Coulter is being held on a $1 million bond.