08/11/08 UPDATE: Prosecutors have announced in a court hearing today that they will seek the death penalty against Travis “T.J.” Mullis in the death of his three-month-old son Alijah on January 29, 2008. The next hearing in this case is scheduled for September 19.
Galveston, Texas (January 29, 2008) - At about 9:00 AM local time this morning, Jesse Zaro and his wife were driving in Galveston near Seawall Boulevard and Ferry Road to go birdwatching. They stopped when they saw something that looked like a doll on the side of the road. Curious, Mr. Zaro got out of the car to see what the object was, and then “became ill, cried, and nearly collapsed.”
What Zaro found was a dead baby boy, probably between three and six months of age, with blond hair. He was wearing only a diaper, and had obvious head trauma. A carseat lay about twenty feet away. When he had calmed himself, Zaro went back to the car and told his wife what he’d found. He tried to flag down a truck, but his wife found her cell phone instead, so the couple dialed 911.
Police aren’t yet sure how the baby’s body or child seat got to where they were found, although they think the baby may have been tossed from a moving vehicle. The Galveston County Medical Examiner’s Office has the baby’s body for autopsy and identification. Police say they will consult with the University of Texas for possible footprint identification of the infant.
Sounds like another Baby Grace/Riley Ann Sawyers case has come to Galveston. I’ll update as information comes in. Thanks for the tip to our commenter eyezblue!
UPDATE — The baby boy’s mother has identified him as hers. She went to Galveston from her Alvin home Tuesday evening and underwent police questioning. The mother called police after becoming worried that Travis Mullis had not returned home with the infant after leaving the home with the baby about 5:00 AM on Tuesday. The three-month-old infant’s corpse was found just four hours later, and Mullis, 21, hasn’t been seen since.
Police are not confirming the identity of the child pending a medical examiner’s report, but the mother is believed to be Caren Kohberger, 27, of Alvin, Texas. Her baby’s name is either Alijah James Kohberger or Alijah James Mullis.
Mullis is considered a “person of interest” as he was the last person seen with both the baby and the carseat. Mullis was last seen driving a silver, four-door, 2002 Hyundai Accent with duct tape on the rear passenger side door handle and Texas license plate 067-RJP, and no baby carseat in it anymore. Mullis has dyed his hair blond and is known to hang out in the Galveston and Baytown areas.
Caren Kohberger told police that she and Mullis argued the night before he left with their son. According to her Fubar account, James was listing herself as single and reported a breakup with Mullis on December 29, 2007. She also says that Travis Mullis murdered their son. Autopsy results released on January 30 show that baby Alijah was killed before he was dumped, with blunt force trauma to the head as the cause of death.
UPDATE 2 – Police have issued a warrant for Travis Mullis on a charge of enticing a child. During their investigation of Alijah’s death, investigators found that Mullis allegedly removed an eight year old girl from her bed sometime in January. Mullis apparently took the girl to a park or school playground and asked her to take her pants off. When the girl got upset and began crying, Mullis took her back home. According to police, the girl lived in the trailer where Mullis, Kohberger and Alijah were staying.
Caren Kohberger is now refusing to speak with investigators until she has an attorney. Some sources report that she already has counsel and is not going to talk further with police.
UPDATE 3– Travis Mullis turned himself in on February 1 at a Philadelphia police station. He “calmly walked in and said he wanted to talk about some things that happened in Texas,” said a police spokesperson. Mullis has admitted to intentionally murdering baby Alijah Mullis by stomping the baby to death. Mullis said that he stomped Alijah repeatedly until he felt the baby’s skull crush under his foot. Mullis is being held on $1 million bond for capital murder pending extradition to Texas, where the death penalty is starting to sound really good.
Police have been unable to match hospital footprints to identify Alijah, so DNA is being used to get the formal ID. Results are expected in three or four days.
2/05/08 UPDATE 4 – The affidavit police detectives signed against Travis Mullis has been made available to the press. That statement details Mullis’ confession in the murder of his son Alijah. The following information is from that affidavit.
In the statement, Caren Kohberger, told police that Mullis left their Alvin home about 4:30 a.m. Jan. 29 and was supposed to return with her baby for a 9 a.m. feeding. Police said Mullis went to work on a car, and that Kohberger wasn’t alarmed that he left with the child. It doesn’t say that Mullis was working on her car - it appears that he was working on someone else’s car.
“In the signed written statement, Travis James Mullis admitted taking Alijah Mullis out of his car seat and stated the only way to stop Alijah Mullis from crying was to kill him,” the affidavit says. The statement goes on to say that Mullis stomped on the infant’s head three to four times “until he felt Alijah Mullis’ skull collapsing.”
Galveston police Lt. Jorge Trevino said Monday he didn’t know exactly where the homicide occurred on the island, but “we’re confident, based on the statement he gave, that it happened in Galveston,” sometime after Mullis took Alijah from their Alvin home.
UPDATE 02/07/08 — Those of you who took bets on arrest dates, get out your gum wrappers, used beer cans and paper clips, because it’s happened within the week. Caren Kohberger has been charged with child endangerment today. Police say that Kohberger had reason to believe that Travis Mullis was a threat to Alijah when she allowed him to leave their home with the baby on January 29. Child endangerment is a charge punishable by up to two years incarceration. Here’s the warrant.
So pretty much, the police say what we say: She knew or she should have known, that Alijah was at risk when T.J. took him. Caren has not been taken into custody at this writing. My bet? Her lawyer made a deal. Kohberger is reportedly in New York with family. An unconfirmed source told a news outlet that Caren had checked herself into a psych unit. Police sources say that Kohberger is no longer being cooperative. Gee, yathink?
In other news, T.J. Mullis now has a public defender who will meet with him over the weekend to discuss strategy in his capital murder defense. My gum wrapper bet? Poor abused TJ couldn’t help but abuse his baby because he’s all traumatized and mentally ill like that. And he couldn’t take his meds because he was broke, and going to an ER and saying he was going to hurt himself or someone else was out of the question. Got it.
UPDATE 8/11/08 - Prosecutors have announced today that they will seek the death penalty against Travis “T.J.” Mullis in the death of his three-month-old son Alijah. The next hearing in this case is scheduled for September 19.
1506 responses so far ↓
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1
eyezblue
Jan 29, 2008 at 5:15 pm -im so ill from these fucks.
its so easy to take a child to the hospital,if you didnt want them:(they take them & dont ask questions.but no,these sick fucks would rather take the time to hurt babies or children.i would LUV to go one on one with the person responsible for this.i shouldnt even call them a person.it has to be an animal!!!!!
2
pms.247
Jan 29, 2008 at 5:24 pm -I just don’t know what to say - this is obviously so tragic - treating a baby like garbage. I wonder if the baby was strapped into the carseat when thrown out (if that’s what happened, and it likely is) or if they were thrown out separately. That poor couple who found him. I’d never get over something like that.
3
Hippiepoet
Jan 29, 2008 at 5:34 pm -OMFG These poor, poor babies, just discarded like pieces of trash, I do not understand. Can wait to find out who this baby is and who did this horrible thing.
4
thepooh5
Jan 29, 2008 at 5:37 pm -WHAT THE HELL!
I am sick to death, today, on here — its just too much. Poor, poor babies. I am weeping.
5
taintfutcha
Jan 29, 2008 at 5:44 pm -i think the rat bastard that did this will be found under some dank stone shortly.
and then claim the baby fell out of the car unnoticed, unassisted and theyve been searching everywhere for him.
6
impqueen
Jan 29, 2008 at 5:47 pm -Oh, just wait till I get my little keyboard fingers on whoever did this. Public shaming is only the beginning of what we at the DD can dish out.
7
black heart
Jan 29, 2008 at 6:00 pm -A little while ago I drove down to the back of our property.
There’s a dirt road that runs horizontal to our place at the back there. I looked through the gates and could see what appeared to be a naked baby tossed onto the side of the dirt road.
My heart was thumping I can tell you. It was just a doll of course. But I still see that image in my head and can only imagine how that poor man must’ve felt.
8
Miss. Hill
Jan 29, 2008 at 6:01 pm -I feel guilty to throw a gum wrapper, I actually can’t do it. To throw my baby OMG I can’t imagine the physical act of doing this. This is so sick I am crying and dammit I’m at work
9
Hippiepoet
Jan 29, 2008 at 6:08 pm -heh, Your probably right. Dumbfucks.
“Oops, Pa hit a bump in the dern road and the carseat just bounced out I guess, don’t know when it happened, just noticed when we got home the dern baby was gone….shoot fire. Ben’ looking every where for that damn carseat, hell my friend Tawquita needed to borrow it.”
*rolls eyes*
10
mg
Jan 29, 2008 at 6:20 pm -did ya’ll watch the Zodiac? At the end of the movie he has that woman in his car and threatens that he is going to throw the baby out of the car? maybe it is something like that and there is another victim out there? I almost would rather there was another victim out there than think the mother/father/boyfriend threw the baby out of the car.
11
mg
Jan 29, 2008 at 6:23 pm -http://www.wmtw.com/mostpopula.....etail.html
“A car seat was found about 20 feet from the baby’s body, police said.”
12
taintfutcha
Jan 29, 2008 at 6:27 pm -or they left the carseat on the roof o the car and took off-in a hurry to get home for oprah
or a lazy boots left the bairn in the car whilethey ran into 7-11 and a carjacker took off in it only to find the babe and chucked it out
gack-there’s no reasonable senario possible
13
taintfutcha
Jan 29, 2008 at 6:28 pm -scenario
14
dammitall
Jan 29, 2008 at 6:32 pm -I don’t understand why these nimrods are getting pregnant in the first place? Were they subject to “abstinence only” education? Is Planned Parenthood underfunded in their area? They don’t believe in abortion, but do believe in tossing their kid out the window like litter? What?
15
mg
Jan 29, 2008 at 6:32 pm -here is a video of the news interviewing the man that found the baby.
http://www.khou.com/video/news.....vid=212758
16
impqueen
Jan 29, 2008 at 6:39 pm -MG, thank you for that video. Hopefully the Almighty Couch Boy will put it up for me since he has the Awesome Youtube Skillz.
I like Mr. Zaro. He’s a nice man. Poor guy. Poor baby.
Damn, y’all, it’s a two-baby day at the DD.
17
mg
Jan 29, 2008 at 6:42 pm -There are also pics out there of the outline of the baby. it is sickening. They say that the baby hasnt been out there long.
18
WryBread
Jan 29, 2008 at 7:04 pm -It happens. You leave the windows of the car open and with the new modern car designs — whooosh! Out the window goes baby, cradle and all.
I wonder if they threw the poor baby out and then tidied up a bit by getting rid of the carrier, or tossed the baby in the carrier in one big move. These babypoppers get preg because they think planning for bc is unromantic, they have the baby because they are against killing by abortion and they get a lot of money, gifts, and attention during the pre-baby period — and when baby becomes a bore, it’s on to the next thing!
19
taintfutcha
Jan 29, 2008 at 7:18 pm -i don’t think birth control get’s further than the deep recesses of the cerebral cortex. too lazy, he won’t don a rubber, he’ll pull out, she’s on top so it;s impossible to get knocked up or worse yet; a blank-not even considered. she get’s preggers-he doesnt want it and wants to move on-she says “i’m keeping our baby” to keep the lad around maybe, baby’s born, reality hurts but maybe there’s welfare checks-badabing-maybe having more babies is cool! no working-checks and foodstamps for buying crack and smokes-bob’s yer uncle. if the majority of unplanned births didnt go this way-i’d be astounded.
ahh-cynicism, my constant companion
i find it hard to believe that these same folks find abortion too distasteful to undertake
lazy ass fucktards is more like it
20
WryBread
Jan 29, 2008 at 7:33 pm -Have to agree. Having unplanned, unwanted babie$ can seem to be a ticket to easy street. But I don’t think there’s enough money in it, or people wouldn’t be dropping them off bridges, buildings, etc., to get shed of them. We need to have this economic reality taught in the high schools in family planning classes.
Not to open a can of worms here in Discussion Land, but the anti-abortion people work pretty hard to help babymammas not “kill the baby in the womb” and the social-program check$ angle is a part of their pitch.
21
Morbid
Jan 29, 2008 at 8:07 pm -The baby outline photo sucks. I could do a better job in my front yard and no one would know the difference. However, the raw aerial footage actually shows the body in relation to the car seat. I have been trying to get that posted.
22
impqueen
Jan 29, 2008 at 8:12 pm -i did that in my front yard and sent it in, actually. i knew i shouldn’t have used orange.
23
Morbid
Jan 29, 2008 at 8:15 pm -Tuesday afternoon, a woman from Alvin called the Galveston Police Department saying her baby matched the description of the dead child.
She said her estranged husband took her son Tuesday morning and she hadn’t seen him since.
The woman was heading to Galveston to view the child’s remains.
24
mg
Jan 29, 2008 at 8:21 pm -OMG. Can you imagine being that mom??!! Poor woman!
Why does it always have to be the daddy/boyfriend?
25
ells9824
Jan 29, 2008 at 8:36 pm -Sadly, its not. Lots of dead babies at the hands of their moms lately. Baby Grace for one. And if mom sits by and watches, she’s worse than the abuse IMO.
26
ells9824
Jan 29, 2008 at 8:36 pm -abuser*
27
dammitall
Jan 29, 2008 at 8:40 pm -…because total strangers are usually more upstanding folk than the ones these bimbettes entangle themselves with?
28
impqueen
Jan 29, 2008 at 8:57 pm -The woman from Alvin is being questioned now. I hope we’ll get an ID on this baby soon.
29
swivel
Jan 29, 2008 at 9:26 pm -Wasn’t the kid in the 9th trimester? Is this even illegal?
30
impqueen
Jan 29, 2008 at 9:39 pm -Fourth, fifth trimester at the outside by my count.
31
Morbid
Jan 29, 2008 at 10:04 pm -It is estimated the blond-haired baby was between 3 and 6 months old and was wearing only a diaper. Galveston police Lt. Jorge Trevino said a woman told authorities a man drove off with her child. Police were investigating the relationship between that man and the woman. The baby’s description matched that of the child found, he said.
32
impqueen
Jan 29, 2008 at 10:51 pm -Person of interest named:
Police have identified Travis “TJ” Mullis, 21, as a person of interest. They have a vehicle description — a silver, four-door 2002 Hyundai Accent with duct tape on the rear passenger side door handle and Texas license plate 076 RJP.
33
mg
Jan 29, 2008 at 11:49 pm -it goes here….
The baby does belong to the Alvin woman. TJ Mullis is the baby’s father and they are just looking for him to “question’ him
http://galvestondailynews.com/…..LHq3970C64
34
WryBread
Jan 30, 2008 at 12:22 am -What a heartbreaking situation. That poor mother. I wonder how many parents turn their kids over to their ex-spouse with a great deal of fear and worry.
35
the shiznet
Jan 30, 2008 at 12:40 am -I hope they “question” him with a crowbar.
36
catlady
Jan 30, 2008 at 12:53 am -I watched the video of him and all I can say, having grown up without a father, is that I want him to adopt me and be my dad. Today.
37
catlady
Jan 30, 2008 at 12:59 am -Here’s an article with more details:
http://www.khou.com/topstories.....b1550.html
38
mg
Jan 30, 2008 at 1:20 am -Did anyone else notice that in all of the pics of Travis Mullis he is either in a hospital bed or has a hospital bag behind him? He also looks sick/exhausted. Wonder what is/was wrong with him?
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/my.....geId=3.2.1
39
mg
Jan 30, 2008 at 1:25 am -“Trevino said the woman told authorities that the child’s father had left their home in Alvin about 5 a.m. with the baby to get a car repaired. Trevino said she began calling hospitals hours later when she became concerned about the baby because the father hadn’t left with a “lot of provisions for the baby.” ”
this is really sad, the father and baby left at 5 am and the baby was found dead at 9 am. Only four hours later. I wonder if dad had a car accident? they would have looked for that right? Or what if he left the baby out of the car and committed suicide and someone else ran over the baby?
40
Morbid
Jan 30, 2008 at 2:09 am -I watched the raw video and they stated that the car seat was in good condition. The CSI were also making tossing motions by the side of the road. From the angle of the camera shots, it also looked as if they were also pointing at a pole that the body was near.
41
impqueen
Jan 30, 2008 at 7:12 am -I did notice that and I have no idea what is or was wrong with the dude aside from the “throw baby from the car” thing. Maybe the guy has testicular cancer. Or maybe he should have been taking his anti-babykiller pills.
42
warrman69
Jan 30, 2008 at 9:39 am -What a crule world we live in.
This just sick and twisted.
43
ashdavus
Jan 30, 2008 at 9:44 am -I’m guessing those pictures were taken in the Mom’s hospital room when the baby was born. Some hospitals just give the Dad an extra hospital bed to sleep in if he chooses to stay the night. That’s probably the mom’s IV bag.
44
pms.247
Jan 30, 2008 at 10:44 am -Great observation, MG!
45
Old Man Metal
Jan 30, 2008 at 11:29 am -A nickname like TJ and a duct-taped Hyundai… our kiddie-tossin’ Toe Jam just oozes class.
Agreed on the crowbar interrogation technique.
46
What Would Satan Do
Jan 30, 2008 at 12:05 pm -Galveston PD can stop looking for Toe Jam (Good One OMM lol!) Mullis. We have him safely tucked away in our special “fucks with children” wing of Hell.
He’s been complaining about the lack of cable TV…Just wait till we actually begin to “question” him!
47
momoftwins
Jan 30, 2008 at 12:09 pm -This is the saddest thing I have ever heard. If the father of my children(who happens to be my husband) did something like this I think I would kill him. I probably wouldn’t even go to jail. Everyone would say “Right on”!
48
impqueen
Jan 30, 2008 at 1:53 pm -Mullis has dyed his hair blond sometime in the last day or so. Police also say that the baby’s injuries are not consistent with a fall onto the soft grass.
http://www.khou.com/news/local.....5da15.html
49
LL44
Jan 30, 2008 at 2:32 pm -do not, I repeat, do NOT listen to the 911 call made when the baby was discovered…I bawled my face off.
50