TREBIAN PRINCE - 2 yo -(2009) Wichita Falls TX

The mother of a little boy who wasn’t quite 2 when severe head
injuries claimed his life Sunday told police she saw the child’s father
strike him several times in the head with a handgun and a claw hammer,
according to a probable cause affidavit.

Nicole Grant, 25, had a gunshot wound to her shoulder and was
holding the toddler — identified by police as 23-month-old Trebian
Prince — when members of the SWAT Team entered No. 2 Rene Circle on
Sunday morning.

Benjamin Jerome Prince, 28, was in the Wichita County Jail on Monday
on $3 million bond, charged with capital murder in the deaths of
Trebian Prince and 20-year-old John Prince, and with aggravated assault
in connection with Grant’s wound, the court documents show. Police
found John Prince lying on the living room floor, with what looked like
gunshot wounds to his head.

Two children who were also inside the house when violence erupted
early Sunday morning weren’t hurt. Police found the 9-year-old boy and
8-year-old girl hiding in a bedroom closet. The children were
interviewed, and they told investigators they saw the man with a gun,
and they saw him hit the toddler in the head several times, a detective
wrote.

Police first learned of trouble in the area when calls started
coming in at 6:29 a.m. Sunday. They were first called to Pearlie Drive
and Kevin Circle in the northern Wichita Falls neighborhood to
investigate reports of gunshots and a woman screaming. When they
arrived, the light-colored brick house on Rene Circle became their
focus. According to the affidavits:

Officers arrived and saw a man, dressed in khaki shorts, run into
No. 2 Rene Circle. They heard a woman’s screams coming from inside the
house, and they saw the man step out the back door with what looked
like a gun. The man went back inside, and police set up a perimeter
around the scene.

Soon after members of the SWAT Team arrived, they forced their way
into the home. When they got inside, Grant was near the back door, the
child in her arms.

Officers found the older children unharmed, and discovered John
Prince on the floor. They also found Benjamin Prince, covered in blood,
within a few feet of Grant and John Prince.

Police detained him.

Neighbors described hearing a woman’s voice screaming Sunday morning
that her baby was hurt, and one saw a police officer running down
Pearlie Drive, carrying Trebian, and laying him on a grassy lawn.
Emergency workers tried to revive the little boy, and ambulances rushed
him, John Prince and Grant to the emergency room at United Regional.
Trebian Prince was pronounced dead at the hospital at 8:15 a.m. Sunday,
and John Prince was pronounced dead at 8:57 a.m.

Police talked with Grant, who told them she and both men lived at
No. 2 Rene Circle, and she and Benjamin Prince had a son, Trebian,
together. She said she and Benjamin Prince got into an argument early
Sunday, and that is when he shot her and John Prince, according to the
account in the affidavit.

Man Accused of Killing Toddler Heads to Court
Posted: May 28, 2010 2:41 PM EDT Updated: May 31, 2010 12:47 PM EDT
A man accused of killing his toddler is facing a Wichita County Judge today.

Police say Benjamin Jerome Prince killed his toddler Trebian Prince striking him several times with a handgun and claw hammer.

According to investigators he also shot and killed his relative John Prince.


Benjamin Prince is charged with one count of capitol murder and one count of aggravated assault.

He was in court today for a pre-trial hearing.

The killing of a child younger than 6 is a capital murder offense in Texas.
Punishment could range from life in prison without parole to the death penalty.


Newschannel6 featured his trial in our exclusive series "innocence lost."

You can watch that piece by clicking on the story link.
http://www.newschannel6now.com/Global/story.asp?S=12561636

http://www.cwftx.net/Archive.aspx?ADID=988

http://www.newschannel6now.com/story/15771796/update-on-texoma-man-accused-of-killing-son

Hearing for Man Charged with Capital Murder Rescheduled



Posted: Oct 21, 2011 10:46 PM CDTUpdated: Oct 21, 2011 10:46 PM CDT








The status hearing of a man charged with capital murder has been rescheduled. Benjamin Jerome Prince was scheduled for a status hearing Friday morning for allegedly killing his son Trebian Prince with a claw hammer and a gun and shooting and killing his cousin John Prince back in March 2009. Prince is charged with one count of capitol murder and one count of aggravated assault. A new date for his status hearing has yet to be listed. If prince is convicted he could face the death penalty.

June 28 2012
A jury in 30th District Court on Wednesday found Benjamin Prince
guilty of capital murder in the death of his 23-month-old son, Trebian
Prince, during an Aug. 30. 2009, incident.


Prince received an automatic sentence of life in prison without
parole. The jury got the case at 10:09 a.m. and reached their decision
at 11:29 a.m.


Capital murder trials in Texas where the death penalty is not sought
come with automatic sentences of life without parole. The trial recessed
until 1:30 p.m. when Prince's sentence was read.


Prince also is accused of fatally shooting his cousin, John Prince
Jr., and shooting and wounding the mother of his child, Nicole Grant.


After the sentence was read, Grant nervously walked to the stand to
address Prince. She took several deep breaths and hesitated before
speaking while clutching a notepad where she had written what she wanted
to say.


"I wish this was a horrible dream and somebody would shake me until
they wake me up, but the reality is I'm waiting for someone who's never
going to show up ... and a baby that's never going to come and hug my
neck ... He's (Trebian) innocent, and he had no clue of nothing that was
going on, and he paid for it," Grant said.


District Attorney Maureen Shelton as well as Chief Public Defender
Jim Rasmussen said there's really no victory in a case like this.


"I can't imagine the carnage and the sheer horror of what she went
through and what the (other) kids witnessed," Shelton said. Two older
children hid in a closet during the violent spree.


Rasmussen said after talking to Prince and his family they will
decide if they want to appeal the case within the next 30 days. The
defense is entitled to one appeal that goes to Fort Worth.


"Anytime you're dealing with the death of a small child, I think it's
very hard for a jury to overcome that fact and look to other factors
such as the mental state of the defendant," Rasmussen said. "This case
was a terrible tragedy ... I think exploring why this happens is
something that's worthwhile."


Prince had never been convicted of a felony before, and Rasmussen
said domestic cases that turn into violent homicides are all too common
among people who are otherwise good citizens.


"How does it come to that? I think we've got to look at the psychological realm to get that answer," Rasmussen said.


In closing arguments Wednesday morning, the state argued that Prince
intentionally and knowingly murdered Trebian by beating him with a gun
and the claw end of a hammer.


Shelton said Prince knows right from wrong, and even the defense's expert witness testified to that fact.


No premeditation or forethought is needed to prove intent in a capital murder trial in Texas.


She told jurors his intent began in 2007 before the child's birth
when Prince said he would beat Trebian out of Grant, if he had to leave.


Rasmussen argued that Dr. William Carter was the only expert witness
who testified to Prince's mental state, and the element of culpability
was proved beyond a reasonable doubt.


He admitted Prince committed the murder of Trebian and John Prince
Jr., but says the intent in the death of Trebian is all that needs to be
proven.


Rasmussen said that has not been proven during the testimony of this trial, and the jury had the "toolbox" to prove it.
http://www.timesrecordnews.com/news/2012/jun/28/jury-prince-guilty-of-murdering-son/