HOUSTON, TX – A shocking discovery was made by maintenance workers in a Houston apartment when they found a two-year-old girl bound with duct tape. The toddler, unable to speak, was found to have been subjected to physical and psychological abuse, and was severely neglected. She had sustained a brain bleed from head trauma, was malnourished, had a kidney injury, and weighed no more than an average one-year-old.
Medical personnel stated that the child’s life was hanging by a thread, and without immediate hospital care, she might not have survived the night. The maintenance workers, who had been called to the apartment on November 28, 2023, to repair a dishwasher, heard the child’s cries and found her on the living room floor, her legs bound with duct tape.
Upon removing a blanket that covered the toddler, the workers discovered her feet were also tied up. They quickly documented the scene with a photo and a video before leaving the apartment to report the incident to the authorities.
The child’s cousin, Toniesha Deshae Perkins; Perkins’ boyfriend, Kenry Joseph Flukers; and the child’s aunt, Mya Jhari Breaux-McGruder, were all arrested and charged with causing injury to a child and unlawful restraint of a person under 17. All three were residing in the apartment at the time of the incident, as per the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
Flukers refuted claims that he had seen the child with duct tape around her ankles, asserting it was only around her hands. He explained this by stating that the girl would take food without permission, and her hands were bound to stop her. There were five other children in the home, all of whom appeared to be in good health.
When presented with the photo of the bound girl, Perkins shifted the blame to her children, alleging that they tied each other up. However, two six-year-old twins who were interviewed by authorities contradicted this, claiming they had seen their parents, Perkins and Flukers, duct tape the toddler because she “wastes” food. They also alleged that the toddler would be hit if she removed the duct tape, and that Perkins and Flukers used a belt to punish the girl.
The toddler had been residing at the apartment for the last three months, under the full care and custody of Perkins. Her mother lives out of state, as per court documents.