What’s going on with parents killing their own children? Just days after a Minnesota Black boy died while trying to protect his mother from his father, an Ohio Black woman admitted to killing her 3-year-old son.
According to the boy’s family, he wouldn’t have been in harm’s way, save for the court system.
Curtis Lee James Witcher, was found unconscious sitting in a stroller at a Family Dollar store in the Cleveland area. He was later pronounced dead after being taken to a nearby hospital, according to WKYC. The medical examiner determined that Curtis died from blunt-force trauma.
His mother, Timmeka Eggleton, 31, was charged with two counts of murder, one count of aggravated murder, one count of felonious assault, and one count of endangering children. A week before she was set to stand trial, Eggleton pleaded guilty to the charges; due to the plea deal, the charge of aggravated murder was dropped.
Eggleton killed Curtis just four months after Judge Allison Floyd removed him from his foster parents, who cared for him since he was seven days old and were attempting to adopt him. Floyd determined that Eggleton was fit to retain custody following time spent in an inpatient mental health facility, according to Fox 8.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled that Curtis’ death was a homicide and that his injuries were caused by blunt force trauma. Local police arrested Eggleton after she allegedly lied about what occurred.
Per the report from WKYC, Eggleton’s case was delayed for some months after she was ordered by Judge Brendan J. Sheehan to be sent to a mental health facility. But in February, Sheehan determined that she was sane when her son was killed.
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Witcher-Mosley said her brother’s son, Curtis, was in foster care for 2 1/2 years and doing well. In March of 2023, Judge Allison Floyd terminated supervision and gave Curtis back to his biological mother permanently, even though an attorney hired to represent the child expressed concerns. Four months later, the child was killed.
When speaking to FOX 8, Curtis’ foster parents (who were not identified) shared that they had taken care of the boy since he was seven days old and wanted to adopt him prior to him being given back to the mother.
“Our son should be alive today,” the foster mother told Fox 8. “He brought so much joy.”
Eggleton faces life in prison and will be sentenced on July 22.