Home > Beating > Boy, 9, Charged With Beating 14-Month-Old To Death

Boy, 9, Charged With Beating 14-Month-Old To Death

September 4, 2012 at 12:10 pm by Morbid

BELLEVILLE, IL – We just reported on a case where a 10-year-old girl was charged with killing an infant in Maine, now police in Illinois have charged a 9-year-old boy with first degree murder after they say he beat a 14-month-old to death.

I’ve read many articles about this, but after one from LakeExpo.com, I think I have a clearer picture of what allegedly happened. From what I can gather, Alisha Johnson is the mother of 14-month-old Taquan “King” Willis and his two brothers, ages 2 and 3. A few months ago, Johnson moved into the home of Melissa Wilbourn, who lived with her boyfriend and two boys ages 12 and 9-year-old.

On Aug 26, Johnson was out when she received a call from Wilbourn telling her Taquan was injured and she needed to go to the hospital. When she arrived, she would find her son beaten and unconscious. Taquan would never regain consciousness and was pronounced dead on Sunday.

On Tuesday, police would charge the 9-year-old boy with first degree murder after they say he beat Taquan to death. St. Clair County State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly says he is unable to give details in the case because of the accused’s age. He did say the child could not, by law, be tried as an adult, and the case is pending in juvenile court.

Johnson’s aunt told reporters that Wilbourn told relatives that the kids were all in a back room sleeping on a floor when she heard groaning. When she went to check on the kids but didn’t notice anything wrong so she went back to sleep. When she heard more groaning, she went back to the room and called out to Taquan. When she picked him up, he was limp. Jackson said Wilbourn told her boyfriend something was wrong with Taquan and called 911.

At this point, no one is talking about how, specifically, Taquan died or what lead police to charging the 9-year-old with his murder.

Tags: Beating, Crime, Illinois, Juvenile, Murder, Taquan Willis

20 Comments

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http://www.facebook.com/lolabelle13 Rheana ‘Love’ Tarrants

Since I moved here this has been the fourth time I’ve seen my city or one close to me featured on DD. Time to move. Now.
NY_Mommy

This is horrible. Idk what happened but mom having 3 kids aged 3 and under. Needing to move in with a friend and more kids, that sleep on the floor in the back room? Poor baby.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1416011023 Amanda Ramirez

I don’t understand why she wouldn’t check the baby the first time she heard a “groan”. My daughter is 4 1/2 and if I hear a noise, I go check to make sure she’s okay. I will literally wait until I make sure she’s still breathing normally before I leave the room. I would be the same way with a friend’s child…especially one that is so young. Something is either being left out or the chick just did not give a damn about her friend’s baby. She was ultimately responsible for the well-being of the children put in her care.
sugarpie

I feel bad for all the kids. 5 kids sleeping on the floor? I would sleep on the floor before I’d have my children there. She heard the kid moaning, but didn’t hear the poor little guy getting beat? Something doesn’t sound right here.
curiousalways

can you say “irresponsible”? Stop having babies if you can’t take care of them! This isn’t the middle ages. There are ways to stoop unwanted pregnancies. Birth control!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
curiousalways

The only thing my boys would ever consider killing would be zombies on Call of Duty! (I think that’s a game where they have zombies-I let their Dad monitor all those video things). Seriously, my 11 year old will let my 8 year old beat the crap (well you know what I mean) out of him because he is so scared he might hurt him if he fights back. How can a 9 year old beat a baby to death?????????????????
Jury

Definitely no winners here.
nowitzki41

Thank you! All these welfare/ dirt poor women that just insist on having babies like it’s their job are so irresponsible. They are just so pathetic.
JohnQknowitall

What is causing these children to be so angry?
TruTruTrue

Shit I’m the same way, I can’t let a sound go by without checking and making sure everything is fine. As for this horrible incident, I would like to know if the friend was under any kind of substance.
wastintime

How could she not hear the baby screaming as he was being beaten! My son is 7months old. And every one on the block can hear him scream. I think something stinks in this story. I wonder if the friend or the friends boyfriend killed the little guy.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=529168773 Toy Thompson

I’m with you on that one Sugarpie. How do you “hear” a moan & a groan but not the sound of the child being beat?? Now THAT doesn’t “sound” right!!!!!!
GGMon

These kids are their meal tickets. The more babies they have, the more money they get from the state. Pisses me off
Shar G’z

Black people live in Maine?! o_O
http://twitter.com/ed_quinones Eduardo Quinones

I want you to read that first sentence again. Give it another shot.
Operation Plumbbob

Yeah there’s something fishy with this story. Too many questions crop up when you look at the details. The woman checks on the kids twice but sees nothing wrong. The 2nd time she checks, she calls out to… the baby? The only kid who couldn’t answer, she calls to. Why?

A baby’s not going to give a couple of mild groans after sustaining injuries severe enough to lead to death. Regardless of who did it, it’s pretty obvious this woman’s covering something up.
FrikkenFrak

I think there should be circumstances where adult sentencing can be applied to a case regardless of the accused individuals age.

The 9 year old in this case, if guilty, can be either 1. A psycho/sociopath in the making 2. A lifetime criminal in the making. Normal kids don’t beat toddler’s to death, no matter how “angry” they are.
FrikkenFrak

This will sound cold (it’s the frame of mind I’m in this morning), but here it is….The people I feel sorry for are those paying for this whole thing with their tax dollars.

Maybe I’m just hardened after ALL these years and ALL of these stories of parents who never should have been parents, then having TOO many kids they couldn’t afford to begin with, who then treat their kids like shit and it all ends up in the welfare, court and prison systems. Basically, I’m tired of footing the tab for the outcomes of stupid fucking people.
http://www.facebook.com/Leashaness Alicia Lynee’

Good to know this little shit will walk free someday :/
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1616336316 Mary Mahi Mahi

A moan? More like a scream of agony. Who knows WHO killed that precious lit’l toddler? Melissa’s story isn’t adding up. WHERE was the mother when her three toddlers were sleeping on the floor one of them getting killed? At the bar with her newest boyfriend? Poor baby didn’t even stand a chance to live. RIP