Texas mother and boyfriend face capital murder charges for ‘beating her three-year-old son to death’
A Texan mother and father accused of beating her three-year-old son to death have had their criminal charge upgraded to capital murder.
Chelsea Berg, 30, and her boyfriend Christopher Alexander, 30, were initially arrested on October 14 after their son was admitted to the hospital in Collin County.
At the time, Dawson Zamora, 3, was treated for severe brain trauma and extensive bruising by medics.
According to an arrest warrant seen by WCSC, Alexander claimed that he had discovered the child with the injuries after hearing a “thud” at home.
However, inconsistencies between the extent of the three-year-old’s injuries and Alexander’s story led medics to report the incident to the Collin County authorities. Both Berg and Alexander were arrested, with the mom being released shortly after.
Dawson died two months later on his father, Dahrian Zamora’s, birthday on December 7.
“My son Dawson has passed away,” the father wrote on Facebook. “He held on to spend one last birthday with me and refused to go until then.”
Berg was rearrested a day later, with the upgraded charge of capital murder.
In Texas, capital murder comes with a sentence of life in prison without parole.
Police documents seen by WCSC found that Berg had sent a series of texts to Alexander, which suggest that she was aware that he had allegedly harmed the 3-year-old in the past.
“100000% serious. You bruise him, hurt him, and cause damage every single time you are alone with him,” one text read. “There hasn’t been a single time you’ve been alone with him where he hasn’t been hurt.”
Alexander, who has been held at the Collin County Jail, also faces two additional charges. According to the jail’s roster, he has been charged with stalking and tampering with physical evidence.
Neither Alexander nor Berg has been given the opportunity to post bail, according to the jail roster.
Meanwhile, Dahrian Zamora has confirmed that he is planning a funeral for his son.
“I’m 31 years old having to bury my three-year-old son and I obviously wasn’t prepared for this because we shouldn’t have to bury our children,” he wrote on Facebook. “I haven’t lost a family member, or a friend and now this is my first experience of death.”
He urged readers to keep his daughter, Harper, in their prayers and claimed that his son’s death “could have been prevented.”
“He should have been protected and now he was murdered,” he added. “My THREE YEAR OLD MURDERED and I’m left carrying this and I don’t know where to go from here.”
The Independent has contacted the Collin County Sheriff’s Office for further comment.
