GALVESTON, Texas A man facing a death sentence for killing his infant son was set up for developmental trouble, based on the extremely poor health of his mother before his birth, a doctor testified Thursday.
Travis James Mullis also was incapable of forming attachments with people, mainly because his adoptive father repeatedly abused him sexually, according to testimony in day four of Mullis punishment hearing.
Mullis, 24, of Alvin, was convicted March 11 of capital murder in the Jan. 29, 2008, stomping death of his 3-month-old son, Alijah.
Sightseers found Alijah s body clad in a diaper on a berm near Galveston s East Beach.
Mullis fled to the East Coast and surrendered Feb. 1, 2008, to Philadelphia police, confessing on videotape that he stomped Alijah s head to stop his crying.
A jury of seven women and five men in Judge John Ellisor s 122nd District Court in Galveston must decide whether to sentence Mullis to death or life in prison without parole.
Development Hampered By Mother
The defense presented two witnesses Thursday Dr. Mitchell Haven Katz, a pediatric gastroenterologist from Newport Beach, Calif., and Matthew Jonathan Mendel, a clinical psychologist from Raleigh, N.C.
Katz reviewed medical records of Sheila Wallace, Mullis birth mother, who died at age 37 when Mullis was 10 months old.
Several of Wallace s medical issues while pregnant, including morbid obesity, diabetes and lung disease, affected Mullis prenatal development, Katz said.
Wallace smoked up to four packs of cigarettes and drank up to 20 cups of coffee a day.
Wallace had blue fingertips indicating she was hypoxic, meaning she had low oxygen levels in her blood, which also affected Mullis development, Katz said.
Was the child being set up for significant, neuropsychosocial issues in the future? Gerald Bourque, one of Mullis defense attorneys, asked.
Uncontrolled diabetes, prompting hospitalization, is a major risk of developing neuropsychiatric problems that may not be apparent until years down the line, Katz said.
Adoptive Father Molested Mullis
Mullis nutrition improved when he was adopted, but Mullis adoptive father, Gary Lynn Mullis, sexually abused him, possibly as a baby and until the age of 6.
Mendel, a clinical psychologist, interviewed Mullis for 13 hours in three days in November. Mendel also reviewed some of the 4,000 documents produced by the defense relating to Mullis time in a juvenile rehabilitation center for youth sex offenders.
Mendel testified that Mullis suffered from mental disorders that rendered him unable to connect with others.
Mendel also testified Mullis experienced three major traumas early in life, including five abandonments, early childhood surgeries and sexual abuse by his adoptive father, Gary Mullis, who was his only positive adult role model.
Gary Mullis died of a heart attack at age 55, a month and a half after Mullis surrender.
Mullis was more affected by separation from his adoptive father because of his father s incarceration than the sexual abuse, Mendel said.
Reactive Attachment Disorder
Looking through the records, it is very clear Travis does not have the ability to attach, to connect to other human beings as most of us do, Mendel said.
Testimony revealed Mullis went to a youth rehabilitation center because he molested a young girl.
Mullis is also charged with enticing a child, a young girl, in Brazoria County.
Sex is the only way that he knows how to have any sort of human connection, Mendel said.
The prosecution questioned Mendel s assessment.
Everyone who is abandoned doesn t go out and commit crime, special prosecutor Lyn McClellan said.
Mendel agreed, saying any solitary factor in and of itself doesn t make anyone commit capital murder.
It makes someone more at risk for these things, Mendel said.
No Sense Of Morality
Travis Mullis also didn t develop a sense of morality, Mendel said.
I do not believe his damaged, impaired moral development is his fault, Mendel said.
Whose fault is it? McClellan asked.
Mendel mentioned Mullis birth illnesses, necrotizing enterocolitis, which left him hospitalized for 71 days without much bonding from his mother. The illness is a gastrointestinal disease, causing destruction of the intestine.
I heard stories of him being born so addicted to nicotine, that his mom would blow smoke in his bottle, Mendel said. These are bad things, developmentally.
So, it s everybody but Mullis? McClellan asked.
Travis is 100 percent responsible for what he did, Mendel said. What I m doing is explaining the human being that did this terrible act.
The defense is expected to call Mullis relatives today. The punishment hearing is moving to the justice center s third floor in the 122nd District Court. The trial and punishment hearing previously was hosted in a larger courtroom on the fourth floor to accommodate spectators, who have dwindled.
This story was brought to you thanks to khou.com s partnership with The Galveston County Daily News.
