Mother of Tuscaloosa Baby Who Died in 2019 Sentenced to 40 Years

The mother of an allegedly abused infant who died in 2019 has been sentenced to 40 years in prison, the Tuscaloosa Police Department announced Wednesday.

In a long Facebook post, a department spokesperson said the baby, Demarious Kamari Henry, was eight weeks old when TPD Investigator Dornell Cousette visited him in Children's of Alabama hospital in Birmingham.

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The child's father reportedly called 911 in March 2018 because the child was unusually quiet and unresponsive during a morning bath.

Henry was examined at the hospital, where doctors found multiple skull fractures and bleeding on the infant's brain. He was kept on life support for almost a year, but ultimately died in February 2019.

According to TPD, Investigator Cousette interviewed the boy's mother, LaKendra Williams, and pressed her about the nature of his injuries.

Williams allegedly said she might have dropped the infant in the kitchen, then said maybe she elbowed him in her sleep.

Cousette kept pushing, until Williams allegedly admitted that she hurt the boy because he was being "whiny."

Williams was ultimately charged criminally for her son's death, originally with first-degree domestic violence then later with murder, after the infant died in 2019.

Sadly, Cousette was not able to see justice served this week when she was sentenced to 40 years in prison Tuesday -- the police officer was shot and killed in the line of duty in September 2019.

"Yesterday, Judge Daniel Pruet sentenced LaKendra Yashekia Williams, 29, to serve 40 years in prison for killing her son," TPD wrote on Facebook. "Thank you to DA Hays Webb's office for their work securing a just punishment in this case. We think Investigator Cousette would have been happy to know justice had been served for Demarious -- and for the first-time father who lost his son so young. Cousette worked some tough cases, involving some of the most vulnerable victims we come across. His impact will always be remembered."