Houston couple charged in toddler's death after horrific injuries found

Damien Lamont Henderson Damien Lamont Henderson Photo: HPD Photo: HPD Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Houston couple charged in toddler's death after horrific injuries found 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

In the last week of Taemor Hicks' short life, the coroner noted, just even walking would have been difficult. The 13-month-old boy had been beaten so badly that some of his leg tissue had died and was decaying.

On Friday, the day he died, he'd been beaten seven or eight times. The man accused of hitting him, Damien Lamont Henderson, said he gave the boy a "whuppin," according to court documents, striking him across his body and chest with a belt.

Henderson and the boy's mother, Trachell Foster - who told investigators she had seen him beat her son - are now charged with injury to a child causing serious bodily injury.

Police said Foster had gone to a job interview on Friday, leaving the boy in Henderson's care at the couple's apartment at 9601 West Montgomery. About 11:15 a.m., Henderson called 911 to report the boy had stopped breathing, according to a criminal complaint. Paramedics took the boy to Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Henderson initially told investigators that Taemor's injuries were burns from the stove, but he later said he beat the child he called "Ta" with a belt, according to court documents. The beatings were daily, Henderson told authorities.

He also said he hit the baby with his hand and when his hand hurt from the blows, he would batter the child with the back of his hand.

Foster told authorities she had seen her boyfriend beat her son and it "made her uncomfortable," the document stated. She also said Henderson had been beating the boy for about two months.

The medical examiner who performed the autopsy told authorities the boy had several injuries, including bruises on his face, a torn upper lip, a hemorrhaged left testicle and cuts across the chest.

Henderson and Foster, both 23, are each being held in the Harris County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.