Conroe woman to spend 15 years in prison for infant's death

A Montgomery County jury took less than five hours Thursday to sentence a Conroe woman to 15 years in prison for the March 2011 death of her infant son, a prosecutor said.

The jury on Wednesday convicted Denette Williams, 24, of first-degree felony injury to a child by omission in the death of 5-week-old Braylan, said Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Sheri Culberson.

Conroe police responded to the couple's home on March 12, 2011, after they reported that the baby had stopped breathing, according to trial testimony. Officers arrived and became suspicious when they noticed signs of abuse on the baby, who was pronounced dead the same day at the hospital.

An autopsy revealed that the infant suffered a broken neck, a brain hemorrhage and a partially severed spinal cord.

Culberson said Williams left the baby in his car seat for 11 hours, where he ultimately died. The mother did not seek medical attention, "knowing that her baby was severely injured and in desperate need of medical care," she said.

robert.stanton@chron.com

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