A father was recently charged with capital murder after killing his 3-year old son because he was angry he was not potty trained.
24-year-old Anthony Trakemon Powell beat his son, Tristan Powell to death after bringing him and his younger 2-year-old brother to his home in Houston. His mother had allowed the boys to be taken away from her home in Jasper, Texas in order to give her sons a chance to know their father better.
The young boys’ stay with their father was not meant to be permanent. The authorities revealed that the boys were repeatedly beaten while living with Powell.
Tristan’s aunt, 23-year-old Prosha Nicole Land was also there, witnessing all the mistreatment but did nothing to stop the brutal father. This is why she was also charged with injury to a child by omission.
Even if she failed to help him, she stated that she was very affectionate of Tristan and saw him as the son she never had. She told the police that her brother grew very angry with him because he appeared to make no progress with his potty training. This is why he often used both his hand and a belt to punish him and his brother whenever they wet themselves.
According to Land, on May 26 or 27, Powell hit Tristan so hard that he hit his head really badly on the bathroom floor. Afterwards his behavior changed visibly, as he was permanently sleepy and only wanted to lie on the floor.
She decided to call an ambulance on May 28th, after seeing that Tristan was wheezing and did not respond to the treatment she administered to him.
He was taken to Texas Children’s hospital, where the doctors reported he had multiple fractures and swelling of the brain. He died on the 29th of May at 11:30 p.m. Afterwards, both Land and Powell were charged and taken in custody.
The doctors revealed that Tristan’s younger brother was also injured, as Powell had scalded him with hot water and beat him as well.
The murder left the boys’ mother in a state of grief and shocked Land and Powell’s neighbors, who said the boys’ aunt had never mistreated her daughters.
Powell is now facing very serious charges that could put him on the death row.
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