FORNEY, Texas — A foster mother, now charged in connection with the death of an infant in her care, gave investigator's conflicting statements of the events leading to the infant's eventual death.
FORNEY, Texas — A foster mother, now charged in connection with the death of an infant in her care, gave investigator's conflicting statements of the events leading to the infant's eventual death.
37-year-old Natalie Parker surrendered to the Kaufman County Sheriff's Office on Monday night on felony charges for tampering with a witness, injury to a child, and abandoning or endangering a child in connection with the death of five-month-old Elizabeth Henson, a foster child who was in Parker's care.
Henson was discovered deceased at Parker's residence on the morning of December 29, 2018. Four other foster children in the home have since been removed and Parker's biological son faces a charge of child pornography, evidence of which was discovered during the infant's death investigation.
inForney.com obtained the arrest warrant affidavits for Parker's charges on Tuesday morning, which were filed by the Texas Rangers. In them, Parker gave investigators conflicting details of the events leading to Henson's death.
According to the affidavit, Parker told investigators she went to bed around 9 p.m. with Henson in her crib, which is located near Parker's bed. Parker awoke once around 3 a.m. and believed Henson was in the crib. Parker then tells investigators she woke up around 6 a.m., walked around the block, and moved her vehicle to her driveway from its parked location around the block.
Investigators told Parker she was captured on her Vivint doorbell camera coming into the residence at approximately 7:30 a.m. in the clothes she was currently being interviewed in; she responded that she had changed clothing several times to move her vehicle and when she returned home.
Parker also told investigators she went to Dallas the night before Henson's death but could not recall whether she brought the children with her or what time she returned home. She told investigators when she does leave the home, the children are with different foster parents from the agency.
Investigators were later able to determine Parker was not home the night leading to Henson's death through cell phone downloads and surveillance video, according to the affidavit.
Parker, on multiple occasions, told investigators one of the other juvenile children in the home was known to take Henson out of her crib — telling investigators this juvenile was the last to have Henson before she was discovered face down on the couch. Parker continued to attempt to implicate another juvenile child for removing Henson from her crib on multiple occasions, according to the affidavit.
Vivint doorbell video, reviewed by investigators, captured audio of a voice saying "Smokey had her last night."
Parker's 19-year-old son, Christian Richmond, also known as "Smokey,"who was arrested for possession of child pornography in the day's following the infant's death, told investigators he cared for the infant overnight, feeding her and eventually falling asleep with the infant face up on his chest while on the couch.
When Richmond awoke, he told investigators Henson was not breathing and appeared to be purple. Richmond then says he brought Henson downstairs to Parker who attempted to provide CPR to Henson until EMS arrived at the residence at approximately 9:06 a.m.
According to the affidavit, Parker signed documentation stating she was the only person authorized to care for the foster children, that other personnel inside the residence must maintain minimum standards, and that all foster infants are required to only sleep in his or her crib.
Based on this evidence and interviews, the investigator says Parker knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence placed Henson in imminent danger of death, bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment by leaving her with unauthorized supervision while being the only authorized legal person to have a duty to act on Henson's behalf.
The investigator also says Parker allegedly attempted to coerce Richmond to make false statements about the circumstances of Henson's death.
Parker was arraigned on all three charges on Tuesday morning and is being held at the Kaufman County Jail on bonds totaling $195,000.