By Nataly Keomoungkhoun, Kelli Smith and Hojun Choi
A 5-year-old boy was found dead Monday in a house in South Dallas, and Child Protective Services is investigating.
Shortly before 11:30 a.m., Dallas police officers were dispatched to a call about an injured child in the 2800 block of Silkwood Street in the Bonton neighborhood. There, police said, Dallas Fire-Rescue crew found a 5-year-old boy who had died and had signs of trauma.
Police later charged Tiffany Williams, 26, with injury to a child – serious bodily injury, in the death. Williams was taken to the Dallas County Jail. Police didn’t indicate her relationship to the child.
The police investigation is ongoing, and Texas Department of Family and Protective Services confirmed the agency is investigating the incident with Dallas police. Agency spokeswoman Tiffani Butler said in an email that the agency had previous involvement with the boy’s family.
Neighbors and community members were surprised to learn of the child’s death in what they described as a kind family. On Monday afternoon, several police cars were parked in front of the yellow home. In the front yard was a large trampoline and a white and pink plastic chest, and a basketball hoop was on the side of the home. A bird cage hung from the patio in front of the door.
“This is really surprising, to find this young baby dead in his house,” said Aelicia Watson, founder of Redeemed Women, a nonprofit that serves women in South Dallas. When she saw the home on the news, she immediately recognized it. Her organization has served the family for about three years.
Watson said the family had always been kind and that she wasn’t aware of any internal issues. She said she often saw women coming in and out of the home.
”We have helped them with resources, we have helped with food, with material goods — we’ve prayed for this family,” she said. “We’ve stood in the front yard and just prayed for this family.”
Darlene Young said she was also shocked to hear about the child’s death. Young said she used to greet the woman who lived at the home.
Sometimes she would come by to watch the kids jump on the trampoline in the front yard or race in the streets.
“I would laugh, and say, ‘Hey, y’all is crazy,’” Young said.
Ana Juarez lives across the street. She said she didn’t know her neighbors well but that she knew that a woman, man and several kids lived in the house. She often saw the kids playing in the front yard.
Police said some witnesses were taken to the Child Advocacy Center for questioning, but the department did not describe their relationship to the child.
Violent crime typically rises in the summer, and the city’s murder count is continuing its steady climb. At least 10 homicides have occurred in Dallas during the last week, including two that involved children, police said. On Sunday, an 11-year-old was killed in Old East Dallas in a shooting that police said appeared to be accidental.
This year, police have tallied 121 murders in Dallas as of Sunday morning, an 18.6% jump from the 102 recorded in the same period of 2021, according to the department’s latest statistics.
City officials have launched a campaign dubbed “Summer of Safety” in hopes of lowering crime this summer. The initiative is a public-awareness campaign that encourages young people to participate in low-cost activities to keep children out of trouble.
Anyone with information related to the incident is asked to contact the Dallas Police Child Abuse Unit at 214-275-1300.
