Woman Found Guilty Of Beating 3-Year-Old Son To Death

WASHINGTON, DC — A Washington, DC woman was found guilty Thursday for beating her 3-year-old son to death in June 2014, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

Francis Lyles, 28, was charged with felony murder and first-degree cruelty to children. Prosecutors said Lyles beat beat her son, Xavier, for upsetting her newborn's bouncer seat on June 18, 2014. She then beat him again for running through their Southeast apartment on June 23, 2014.

Prosecutors said Lyles "repeatedly beat him with her hands and/or fists, causing multiple bruises and a lacerated liver." Lyles allegedly "used so much force that the child’s kidney avulsed from the urethral casing." Xavier lost about one third of his blood from internal bleeding, court documents show. He vomited and was left unattended without food, water or medical treatment for about 15 hours.

Lyles entered the child's room and tried to wake him the morning of June 24, 2014. He was not moving or breathing, so Lyles called her cousin and then called 911 for an ambulance. Xavier was pronounced dead in the ambulance, court documents show.

Initially, Lyles told police that her boyfriend had beaten Xavier when she left him in his care.

"For weeks, law enforcement followed her information and leads," prosecutors said. "As the investigation continued, however, the prosecution learned that, contrary to her statements, Lyles was responsible for the death of her son."

Lyles was arrested on Sept. 16, 2014 and has been in custody ever since. She will be sentenced Jan. 8, 2018 and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison with no possibility of release.

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