AfriPulse
Inset (left): Marquise Anderson (Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office). Inset (right): Joanna Shoulder (TruCare Funeral Services). Background: The neighborhood in Fort Worth, Texas, where first responders were called to assist Joanna Shoulder on Feb. 8 (Google Maps).
In a shocking case out of Texas, a man has been detained on charges of fatally beating his 9-year-old daughter earlier this year.
Marquise Anderson, 35, faces the grave accusation of capital murder involving a victim under the age of 10. This charge comes months after the tragic death of his daughter, Joanna Shoulder, who was just 9 years old when she succumbed to severe blunt force trauma. More details emerged as the case unfolded.
Details from an affidavit, obtained by NBC affiliate KXAS, reveal that Fort Worth Police were dispatched to Anderson’s residence in Fort Worth, Texas, at 3:15 a.m. on February 8. Upon arrival, first responders discovered Joanna lying unconscious on the floor. As she was rushed to the hospital, medics noticed she was covered in bruises. Tragically, Joanna passed away from her injuries at the hospital, prompting homicide detectives to focus their investigation on Anderson.
Investigators reported that a woman present in the home during the incident alleged that Anderson had disciplined Joanna with a belt the day prior to her death. In the early hours of February 8, Anderson reportedly woke the woman, asserting that Joanna had fallen ill while in the bathtub. He recounted leaving the room briefly to get her some water, during which he claimed he heard distressing noises. Upon returning, he found Joanna had vomited and injured her head after a fall.
The woman was performing CPR on Joanna when paramedics arrived.
When police spoke to Anderson, he said Joanna had wet the bed twice that night. After the second incident, he put her in the bathtub for three hours to clean her up. Police said Anderson admitted that he spanked Joanna. After she purportedly smirked at him, he then allegedly admitted to beating her with a belt that had a metal buckle.
Anderson told police that after he allegedly beat Joanna with the belt, he checked on her while she sat in the tub. Her condition apparently deteriorated, and Anderson said Joanna became “sleepy, thirsty, hot, and slurr[ed] her speech.” She then collapsed and started to vomit, and Anderson called 911. Police said Anderson provided multiple explanations for the injuries to her head.
According to police, the autopsy on Joanna revealed that the 9-year-old suffered “abundant hemorrhage of the soft tissues” and “multiple bruises on Joanna’s back, thighs, lower extremities, and flank.” She had multiple blunt force injuries to her head and neck and bleeding underneath her scalp and around her cervical and thoracic spinal canal.
On June 16, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled that Joanna’s manner of death was homicide. Authorities arrested Anderson on Tuesday. He remains in custody at the Tarrant County Jail, where he is being held without bond. His next court date was not immediately available.
Source: NewsFinale | Read the Full Story…
