A woman from Alabama has pleaded guilty to manslaughter after police said she killed her 4-year-old nephew, King Lyons. Initially, she blamed the boy’s death on his 9-year-old sister.
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In February 2022, police charged the aunt, Yolanda Denise Coale, a 55-year-old woman, and Lyon’s 9-year-old sister in his beating death. However, according to the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office, the charges against the 9-year-old have since been dropped.
The prosecutor’s office confirmed to local reporters that Lyon’s sister had no involvement in his death.
Coale, according to prosecutors, had blamed the 9-year-old girl the entire time.
During Coale’s plea hearing, an officer who responded to the scene in 2022 testified that Lyons was cold to the touch, lying on his back with a pink towel on his face.
Lyons also had bruising under his eyes, a cut on the top of his nose, and cuts on his lip.
The officer testified that Lyon’s body also displayed signs of abuse, including old scars.
A 6-year-old relative told investigators that they saw Coale slap and whip Lyons with a belt on multiple occasions. The minor also said there was a “lock-up room” where Coale would put them if they misbehaved.
Coale, the caregiver of the victim, also denied Lyons water once due to potty accidents, according to details from WKRG. She laughed at the sight of him drinking from the toilet.
“That’s what he gets,” she said.
Coale used items such as a back scratcher, broom, and electrical cord to beat Lyons, according to testimony.
She is scheduled for sentencing on February 15, 2024.
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