DETYREUNNA PRICE - 22 Months (2010)/ Convicted: Father's GF; Dequahna Taylor - Hemphill TX

Hemphill TX ---- A Sabine County Grand Jury has issued an indictment
for a Hemphill woman and charged her in the May death of a 22-month-old girl.
The Sabine County Sheriff's Office has issued a warrant for Dequahna Taylor, 34.


Deputy George Griffith, who is investigating the death,
said he has not seen or spoken to Taylor since two days after the death.
Taylor was the then-girlfriend of the father of Detyreunna Price.
According to a previous report, Taylor rushed Price to a Sabine County
hospital May 12. She died on May 15 at a Houston hospital.
Price was suffering from bite marks, belt marks from a
whipping, burn marks, apparently from an iron and severe head trauma.
Griffith called it one of the most horrific child abuse cases he had ever seen.

The father of a Sabine County toddler who
died in May said he believes his wife may have killed his daughter.
Dwight Stevenson's wife, Dequahna Taylor, was
charged Wednesday with capital murder in the death of 22-month-old
Detyreunna Price.
Price was brought to a Sabine County hospital
with bite marks, burn marks, belt marks and severe head trauma. She
died a few days later at a Houston hospital.
At first, Stevenson, was adamant about one thing: his wife's innocence.
"She told me it was an accident, that's what I
believe," Stevenson said. "I don't think she would just hurt my baby like that."
He demonstrated what he thought happened.
"She said she pushed it open like that right
there and said she got on out and closed the door and seen my baby
laying in front of the generator," Stevenson said.
Then a single photograph changed his mind.
"Things have changed," Stevenson said. "My mind has changed."
A distraught Stevenson said authorities
showed him a graphic picture of his daughter's injuries.
"I didn't want to look at any other
pictures," Stevenson said. "It's taking me back all the way to when the
day it happened."
Now, he feels deceived by his wife, the one person he says he trusted the most.
"I'm more hurt than mad because I put all my trust in her," Stevenson said.
He's desperately seeking answers in Price's death. He says she was the light in his life.
"Of course I want justice for my daughter,"
Stevenson said. "That's my own flesh and blood. I wouldn't put anything
before her, not even myself. So far as justice, yes, I want justice."

Judge reduces bond for accused Sabine Co. child killer
Posted: Aug 16, 2010 11:43 AM CDT
Updated: Aug 16, 2010 11:52 AM CDT



HEMPHILL, TX (KTRE) -
By Jena Johnson - email

HEMPHILL, TX (KTRE) - District Judge Charles Mitchell reduced bond Friday to $400,000 for a woman accused of killing a 22-month-old child.

Bond was previously set at $1 million for Dequahna Taylor, 34, of Hemphill.

Taylor is charged with capital murder, following the death of her husband's child, 22-month old Detyreunna Price. According to a previous report, Taylor rushed Price to a Sabine County hospital May 12. She died on May 15 at a Houston hospital. Price suffered bite marks, belt marks, burn marks, and severe head trauma.

As of Monday morning, Taylor was still booked in the Sabine County Jail.

http://www.ktre.com/story/12986199/judge-reduces-bond-for-accused-sabine-co-child-killer?redirected=true

Grand jury indicts toddler murder suspect on lesser charge

Posted: Aug 09, 2011

HEMPHILL, Texas (KTRE) -
A Sabine County grand jury has re-indicted a Hemphill woman accused in the death of a 22-month-old girl, this time on a first-degree murder charge.

Dequahna Rena Taylor, 35, was originally charged with capital murder in June 2010 in connection to the May death of her then-husband's child, Detyreunna Price.

The grand jury indicted her on the murder charge on July 26.

No court date for Taylor has been officially set. She is still being held in the Sabine County Jail on a $1 million bond.

Sabine County District Attorney Kevin Dutton was not immediately available for comment.

A prosecutor can pursue capital murder charges when it involves a child victim. Capital murder can carry a death sentence, while a first-degree murder carries a maximum punishment of a life sentence.

http://www.ktre.com/story/15237603/grand-jury-indicts-toddler-murder-suspect-on-lesser-charge

Taylor pleads guilty and will serve 15-years

Posted: Sunday, December 4, 2011 4:40 pm
Updated: 5:02 am, Mon Dec 12, 2011.
Pennie Ferguson

Dequahna Taylor, plead guilty to manslaughter Friday Dec.9th in a hearing at Sabine County District Courtroom. Taylor was charged in June 2010 in connection with the death of 22-month old DaTyrunna Price. District Judge Gary Gatlin presided over the hearing and District Attorney Kevin Dutton represented the state.

Manslaughter is a second degree felony with a penalty ranging from 2 to 20 years in prison. Taylor will recieve time served for the nearly year and a half time already spent incarcerated. She was sentenced to 15-years in prison. She was represented by attorney Jimmie L.J.Brown of Houston.

Taylor was originally charged with Capital Murder, but those charges were reduced by a Sabine County Grand Jury to Murder back in July 2010. This move removed the possibility of the death penalty as a reprecussion.

Back in May when the incident occurred Taylor reportedly brought the toddler to Sabine County Hospital with injuries that appeared to resemble bite marks, iron burns and head trauma. Price was transferred to Children's Hospital in Houston, where she died on May 15, 2010.

Taylor fled Sabine County and after a tip to Dallas Police was taken into custody in by Texas Rangers and U.S. Marshall Service on June 22, 2010. She was brought back to Sabine County and indicted on a Capitol Murder Charge by a Grand Jury. Bond was set at $1 million, but later reduced to $400,000 cash bond in August, 2010.

Taylor is currently in Sabine County Jail until she is transfered to prison to serve the remainder of her sentence.

http://www.sabinecountyreporterlive.com/news/article_3eec7064-1d37-11e1-8f10-001a4bcf6878.html