A Texas father, 27-year-old Demari Alston, is accused of killing his 2-month-old son via a brutal beating. Allegedly, Demari claimed that the injuries suffered by his son, who had been abused since he was 10 days old, were a mere “allergic reaction.”
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According to court records obtained by Law & Crime, the investigation began on September 9, 2024. At the time, Houston Police Department (HPD) officers responded to Memorial Hermann Hospital. They had received a report of an infant boy, Zayn, who had suffered severe injuries, including a skull fracture and a brain bleed.
The officers were told that the injuries were “concerning” as they appeared to have been caused by physical abuse. Two days later, Zayn tragically succumbed to his injuries.
A probable cause affidavit reviewed by the outlet detailed that Demari Alson, the boy’s father, and Trinity Perez, his 22-year-old girlfriend and Zayn’s mother, agreed to provide a voluntary statement to the police.
Perez allegedly told police that both of them were at their apartment with Perez’s grandmother on September 8. They were prohibited from being with Zayn alone. This was because the child had suffered severe injuries when he was only 10 days old.
Fox 26 reported that Zayn had suffered fractures to his arm, clavicle, and ribs on July 16. They were prohibited from seeing their child until July 31, but Zayn’s great-grandmother agreed to move to the parents’ apartment to supervise them.
Perez told police that Alston had “tripped” while holding Zayn at around 5:30 p.m., the affidavit said. While she denied that Alston had been abusive with their 2-month-old, she allegedly provided a “vague answer” when prompted about Zayn’s previous injuries, even saying that another child had caused them.
‘Allergic Reaction’
Meanwhile, Alston allegedly told police officers that Zayn had suffered an “allergic reaction” which had caused “everything to swell.” He also told the police he had tripped over while holding Zayn, the affidavit added.
Police, however, allegedly found incriminating text messages and Google searches on Alston’s phone. Police accused Alston of deleting searches made on September 8 that included, “2-month-old hard to wake up,” “Will you go to jail if you find your child unresponsive,” and “best Houston defense lawyers child abuse cases,” among others.
Furthermore, Alston allegedly searched “how to pass a lie detector test” on September 10. That is one day before his 2-month-old son died.
Text messages between Alston, Perez, and Zayn’s maternal great-grandmother also allegedly showed the women’s anger and bewilderment over Alston’s past violent and abusive actions aimed at Zayn.
Finally, text messages between Alston and Perez allegedly showed them getting their stories straight.
“Okay remember bumped head at around 5-6pm trippin over shoe but he was still active,” Alston allegedly told Perez.
More than a year after Zayn’s death, Demari Alston and Trinity Perez were arrested. Alston was charged with capital murder. Meanwhile, Perez was charged with felony injury to a child resulting in serious bodily injury.
Alston’s bond was set at $2 million, while Perez is being held on a $250,000 bond.