Houston Mother Sentenced to 50 Years in Prison for Role in Son’s Death

A Houston mother was sentenced to 50 years in prison on Tuesday for her role in the 2020 death of her 8-year-old son, Kendrick Lee, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“We expect parents to protect their children, not hurt them, because children really are our most vulnerable victims,” Ogg said. “This case shocks the conscience not just because a child lost his life, but because of his parents’ complete and total disregard for human life.”

Gloria Yvette Williams, 38, pleaded guilty to injury to a child causing serious bodily injury in connection to Kendrick’s death at the family’s west Houston apartment. She also pleaded guilty to a second count for the harm done to another child who survived.

Williams’s husband, Brian Coulter, 34, was sentenced in April to life in prison without parole for killing his stepson. Coulter was convicted of capital murder after evidence showed he repeatedly beat Kendrick, leading to the child’s death in late 2020. Following the boy’s death, Coulter covered the body with a blue blanket and he and Williams moved to a new apartment, leaving Kendrick’s body to decompose in their previous residence. Williams’s other young children continued to live in the former apartment alongside Kendrick’s remains for over a year.

The case came to light in October 2021 when one of the surviving siblings called Houston police. When officers arrived, they found only skeletal remains in the apartment. During Coulter’s trial, two siblings testified that they had witnessed Coulter beat Kendrick on multiple occasions.

Assistant District Attorneys Celeste Byrom, who heads the DA’s Victim Services Division, and Edward A. Appelbaum, chief of the DA’s Child Fatality Section, prosecuted the cases against both Coulter and Williams.

“We’re grateful the judge listened to all of the evidence, evaluated it in a fair manner and that justice was served,” Byrom said. “It was an honor to speak up for the children who for so long did not have a voice.”

As part of her plea agreement, Williams requested that the children not have to testify again, a decision Appelbaum acknowledged. “By pleading guilty and waiving the right to a jury trial, the defendant finally acted like a protective mother,” Appelbaum said. “For one day of her children’s lives, she was a good mother.”

Williams’s sentence requires her to serve at least half of her 50-year term before she is eligible for parole.