KYLE, Texas — A Kyle woman has received a life sentence without parole for her infant son's murder in 2018.
Dazrine Chagoya-Williams, 24, was convicted of capital murder this week.
The trial lasted two weeks, showing that on July 4, 2018, she called 911 claiming that the 20-month-old, Mason Williams, was discovered not breathing after a nap. The Kyle Fire Department and EMS attempted to save the boy but soon noticed bruising and other evidence suggesting that the death had occurred hours earlier.
Hays County officials said that investigators learned that up to 12 minutes before the initial 911 call, both parents had made multiple calls to tell family members that the boy was dead. In the trial, the medical examiner and a Dell Children's Hospital pediatrics expert testified that Mason's death resulted from someone squeezing the child's body, depriving his brain of oxygen.
The day after his death, officials said an 8-month-old girl was removed from their care by Child Protective Services. Physicians at Dell Children's also noticed serious injuries on the girl, Mason's sister, that were similar in nature to his.
Officials said that the mother gave multiple statements containing inconsistencies and denying knowledge of the children's injuries. Extractions taken from both parents' phones suggested they knew of injuries to both children for several months.
CPS caseworkers testified that they had observed similar injuries on Mason in 2017. He was returned to the couple by CPS in March 2018 after they had completed required services.
Chagoya-Williams' trial began on April 25. A guilty verdict was returned on May 6. Bill Henry, the 428th Judicial District Court Judge, sentenced her to life in prison without the possibility of parole, which is automatic in a capital murder case in which the State does not seek the death penalty.
Previously, the Hays County Criminal District Attorney's Office had represented the Department of Family and Protective Services in a parental rights termination trial in February of 2019. Then, a jury terminated the couple's parental rights to their surviving child.
The father, 27-year-old Stevie Dwayne Williams Jr. of San Marcos, was convicted of capital murder in October 2021. He is also serving a life sentence without parole.
“The fact that both his parents were complicit in ending Mason Williams’ too-short life makes this case doubly tragic,” said Hays County Criminal District Attorney Wes Mau.
Mau gave his compliments to lead prosecutor Assistant Criminal District Attorney Jamie Liu, ACDA Erika Price, and Kyle Police Department Detectives Joseph Swonke, Pedro Carrasco and Diane Talamantes, for their work in this case.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: