KALEB NELTON - 10 months -(2009) Chauvin LA

A 10-month-old baby died after his mother’s boyfriend allegedly smothered the child because he wouldn't stop crying.

Terrebonne
parish deputies say William Henderson, 23, has been booked with first
degree murder. The baby's mother, Kimberly Nelton, is charged with two
counts of cruelty to a juvenile.

Deputies were called to the couple's Chauvin home Tuesday, where they found the baby already dead.

Investigators say the little boy had extensive bruising on his body and had several broken bones.

posters note:I finally found a first name for this little guy.This is the latest info I could find.

Accused baby killer may face death penalty

Published: Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 9:17 a.m

HOUMA — Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty against a Chauvin man accused of breaking the arms of his girlfriend’s infant son before killing him.

William Henderson, 23, pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder in December. Authorities said he smothered 10-month-old Kaleb Nelton in October while trying to quiet the child’s crying.

The Terrebonne Parish District Attorney’s Office consulted Kaleb’s relatives before making the decision, in part because of the drawn-out process of a death-penalty case. His mother, Kimberly Nelton, 22, of Houma, said she wants Henderson to face death.

“He chose to kill someone that was precious to me, and I feel his life should be taken for it,” Nelton said.

Mark Rhodes, the prosecutor handling the case, weighed factors including the injuries investigators said they found Kaleb with after his death.

“If you’re going to have a death-penalty case, the question becomes ‘Is this appropriate for a jury to decide whether the imposition of death is appropriate?’ ” Rhodes said Friday. “The case was discussed with a roundtable of fellow prosecutors.”

The Capital Assistance Project of Louisiana will handle Henderson’s defense, said Tony Champagne, Terrebonne Parish’s chief public defender.

“I’m disappointed,” Champagne said of the prosecutors’ decision. “I had hoped it would go the other way.”

Nelton said she moved from Marksville to her sister’s home in Chauvin in July. The trailer they shared was cramped with Nelton’s sons — Kaleb and his 2-year-old brother, Kaden — and her sister’s children. She soon moved in with Henderson, a neighbor.

Henderson was away from home working on a shrimp boat much of the nearly four months she knew him.

“To me, I had a home by myself with my kids,” she said. “I wanted to be independent.”

Henderson seemed eager to help her and the children, an impression she now feels was false.

“I feel ashamed, stupid,” she said. “Like I gave him the benefit of the doubt too much. Like I was blindsided.”

Nelton is charged with two counts of cruelty for leaving her sons home unattended, police said. Henderson faces a cruelty charge for allegedly beating Kaden, who now lives with his father, Derek Hardwick, 22, in Alexandria.

Nelton, released from the Terrebonne Parish jail on bond, relayed her opinion on whether prosecutors should seek the death penalty through her attorney.

“The whole thing kind of makes me shaky and nervous,” she said.

Hardwick and other relatives met with Rhodes last month to discuss their opinions on whether the death penalty should be sought. Because of his faith, Hardwick was conflicted over the decision and left it up to prosecutors.

“I just don’t want a guilty conscience,” he said. “I wish it would be over. My son’s murder was a big thing, and it’s still affecting me. He deserves whatever he gets.”

http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20100206/ARTICLES/100209400?p=1&tc=pg

http://www.wbrz.com/news/capital-murder-case-statement-ok-d-for-trial/

Capital murder case: statement OK'd for trial



15, 2011 8:41 AM



HOUMA - A Terrebonne Parish judge says jurors in a capital murder case may hear the statement a 25-year-old man gave police after he allegedly smothered his girlfriend's 10-month-old son.

Judge George Larke ruled Monday after a hearing in the first-degree murder case
against William Henderson of Chauvin. Henderson's attorneys objected to the ruling.

Henderson is accused of breaking Kaleb Nelton's arms, then smothering the baby when he wouldn't stop crying.

Henderson has been jailed since Oct. 20, 2009, the day the baby died.

Prosecutors Pursue Death Penalty Against William Henderson For Death Of 10-mo-old Kaleb Nelton

Prosecutors to seek death penalty in child-death case

The Terrebonne Parish District Attorney's Office announced this morning it will seek the death penalty against William Henderson, 23, of Chauvin, who is accused of killing a baby.

Authorities said Henderson broke the forearms of 10-month-old Kaleb Nelton, his girlfriend's son, Oct. 20 and smothered him while trying to quiet the child's crying.

He was indicted on a 1st-degree murder charge in November. He pleaded not guilty in December.

Authorities said Henderson is also charged with cruelty to a juvenile for beating his girlfriend's other son, Kaden, 2.

Prosecutor Mark Rhodes had been weighing whether to argue for the death penalty in Henderson's case. He considered the opinion of Kaleb's relatives as well as aggravating factors such as the child’s injuries while making a decision, he has said.

The decision was announced via a news release from District Attorney Joe Waitz.

"At this time it would be inappropriate to comment on any facet of the case including the decision making process employed in the making of this decision," Waitz writes.
http://www.cncpunishment.com/forums/showthread.php?1030-Prosecutors-Pursue-Death-Penalty-Against-William-Henderson-For-Death-Of-10-mo-old-Kaleb-Nelton

Louisiana Supreme Court rejects appeal of Chauvin man serving life for 2007 death of baby
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
April 16, 2014 - 10:08 am EDT

HOUMA, Louisiana — The Louisiana Supreme Court rejected an appeal from a Chauvin man serving life in Angola Prison after he was convicted of killing a 10-month-old boy in 2007.

The Courier reports (http://bit.ly/1iZstxo ) William Henderson had requested an appeal from the Supreme Court after the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals rejected his request for post-conviction relief last year. Henderson is serving life in prison after a jury found him guilty in 2012 of smothering Kaleb Nelton to death.

During the original trial prosecutors used a statement in which Henderson told police investigators that the toddler had been crying and he had grabbed the baby's face and told him to shut up.

Kaleb's mother, Kimberly Nelton, was also arrested and charged with cruelty to a juvenile in connection with the incident.

Kaleb Nelton died Oct. 20, 2009. An autopsy determined that both his arms and several of his ribs had been broken, his face was bruised and he had been smothered to death, authorities testified.

In his appeal, Henderson claimed the court had erred during the cross examination proceedings, by selecting a racially biased jury and in preventing a cross examination of the trampoline witness who he claimed would have perjured herself. He also claimed the trial judge erred in allowing the prosecution to amend charges immediately before the trial and disallowing Henderson to specifically inform the jury on the nature of those charges.

The defense also argued that the trial court erred in failing to allow Henderson to cross-examine Kimberly Nelton. The first circuit judge said that the appeal was without merit because it was based on an assumption that Kimberly Nelton had made an agreement with the prosecution — the trial judge determined that the state had not made a "deal" with her regarding future prosecution.

Henderson also argued the court erred in allowing the prosecution to introduce a statement by Kimberly Nelton through a detective's testimony, circumventing his right to cross-examine the witness. The 1st Circuit judge found that Henderson's defense had opportunity to cross-examine her during the trial and that the statement was consistent with her previous testimony.

The appeals court upheld his conviction in September, rejecting all six of the errors Henderson appealed on.

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/4e481462e9f6401db3608299cf30fd40/LA--Smothered-Baby