A Texas man is now in police custody after brutishly taking the life of his daughter as he FaceTimed his ex, who is also the child’s mother, ABC 13 reported.
On Monday, 25-year-old Deontray Flanagan reportedly picked up two-year-old Zevaya from daycare before heading to a Houston Walmart, where the child’s mother works. There, Flanagan began hitting Kairsten Watson, demanding she give him her phone and the passcode to it, or their daughter would be harmed. After she complied, he took Zevaya and left.
As Flanagan was being chased down by police, he FaceTimed Watson, showing the aftermath of their toddler being severely beaten. “Her face was just covered in blood,” the grieving mother recalled. “He hit her with something really hard, and then he called me on FaceTime and he showed me. He choked her on FaceTime. I said, ‘Tray, stop. That is your daughter! Stop! She loves you.’ His exact words were, ‘You only love that man- you did this to her.’”
While the two were FaceTiming, Flanagan was in a high speed chase. The suspect hit multiple other cars and drove the wrong way up multiple Houston roads, as deputies from Harris County Sheriff’s Office followed him for more than 30 miles. He eventually came to a stop and a standoff ensued.
“I am telling the officers, “Look at this FaceTime! Move in,” Watson said. “They sat there, and said they have to get everyone ready, and they have to put on their shields and all this extra stuff like he wasn’t killing her on this FaceTime call.”
After Flanagan was finally taken into police custody, little Zevaya was found nearly lifeless. She was then airlifted to a nearby hospital to be treated for her injuries, but was unfortunately pronounced dead shortly after.
Prior to his attack, Watson called police about threatening phone calls and text messages she received from Flanagan. Last week alone, she notified authorities twice, but the Harris County District Attorney’s office concluded that there wasn’t enough evidence to pursue a criminal charge.
“I told them over and over and over that something was going to be wrong,” Watson explained. “I said, ‘Are y’all going to wait until something happens to her?'”
Flanagan has been charged with first-degree murder, and although he was originally being held on a $2 million bond. Depending on the outcome of the autopsy report, he could be facing a capital murder charge.
