NEW BOSTON, Texas-Opening arguments and testimony are expected to begin this morning in the capital murder trial of a 19-year-old Texarkana man accused of beating his former girlfriend's 2-year-old son to death in January.
Because the state is not seeking the death penalty for Clifford James Gayton Jr., he will receive an automatic sentence of life without the possibility of parole if found guilty of capital murder.
A jury of seven men and five women was chosen Tuesday at the Bowie County courthouse in New Boston.
The most serious charge listed in Gayton's indictment concerning the Jan. 28 death of Da'Corian Wright is capital murder. The indictment lists first-degree murder and first-degree injury to a child as well. The lesser offenses mean the jury could be given the option of finding Gayton guilty of capital murder or one of the first-degree felonies if they don't acquit. The first-degree offenses are punishable by five to 99 years or life in a Texas prison.
Gayton allegedly was the only adult with access to Da'Corian when he was injured, according to probable cause affidavits used to create the following accounts. The child's mother told Texarkana, Texas, detectives that Gayton had been living with her, Da'Corian and his 1-year-old sister for about a month. The mother said Da'Corian seemed well when she left for work that afternoon about 3:15 p.m. and that she thought both children were sleeping when she returned around 9 p.m.
The mother said Da'Corian was face down in his bed, cold to the touch and not breathing when she checked on him around midnight. The mother and Gayton allegedly attempted life-saving measures and placed the toddler in a warm bath, hoping to restore normal temperature. Da'Corian was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to pretrial motions filed by the state, Gayton allegedly forced Da'Corian to spend hours sitting on a child's training toilet and denied him water to drink. Pretrial motions give notice to the defense that the state intends to introduce evidence that Gayton was physically violent with family members and other children. The motion also indicates Gayton used synthetic marijuana the day Da'Corian perished in his mother's apartment on Elizabeth Street in Texarkana, Texas.
An autopsy showed the boy suffered blunt force injuries to his head as well as blunt force injuries to his body severe enough to cause tearing in his internal organs.
Gayton has also been indicted for third-degree injury to a child for injuries found on Da'Corian's younger sister. While officers were questioning Gayton and Da'Corian's mother, the victim's 13-month-old sister was examined by Texas Department of Family and Protective Services caseworkers. Numerous bruises and abrasions on the baby's abdomen, pelvic area, upper and lower thighs, face and back, led the caseworkers to seek treatment for her at a Texarkana hospital. From there, the child was taken to Children's Hospital in Dallas for further evaluation.
The injury to a child charge Gayton faces for allegedly abusing Da'Corian's younger sister is punishable by two to 10 years in a Texas prison.
Gayton has been in jail since his arrest Jan. 30, when Texarkana, Texas, police allegedly found him at a relative's home hiding in a bathroom cabinet. Bail is set at $2 million.