October trial for man accused in beating death of 11-month-old

Joshua Deshaun Lowe
Joshua Deshaun Lowe

TEXARKANA, Texas -- A man charged with capital murder in the death of an 11-month-old boy will go on trial Oct. 4 in Bowie County's 5th District Court.

Joshua Deshaun Lowe is accused in the July 2021 beating death of Javontae Neeley. Lowe also is charged with injury to a child in connection with older, healing injuries allegedly found on the boy's body.

Javontae was admitted to a local hospital July 11, 2021, after being taken in a private car from a house in the 800 block of Bowie Street, according to a probable cause affidavit. Lowe allegedly claimed initially that the child choked on a hot dog.

Javontae died July 13 at a Little Rock hospital. He was found to have suffered a brain bleed and retinal hemorrhaging consistent with being violently shaken. A doctor at Arkansas Children's Hospital reportedly concluded Javontae had been thrown or slammed onto a hard surface, according to a previous Gazette report.

Javontae's mother, Christy Wedgeworth, is facing charges in her son's death and in the alleged abuse of her daughter, according to court records. She has pleaded not guilty to a charge of injury to a child by omission.

The trial date for Wedgeworth is Nov. 29, according to court records.

Wedgeworth reportedly was at work when Javontae suffered the fatal head injury. Other injuries, including broken arms and fractured ribs, were older and in various stages of healing.

Lowe, who is represented by attorney Butch Dunbar, will be in court Oct. 3 for a pretrial hearing, according to records.

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