CHASE MATTHEWS - 2 yo (2008) - Bonham (NE of Plano) TX

A Bonham man convicted last year in the
beating death of a toddler has been acquitted. Corey Don Louis was
found guilty in 2009 of capital murder for his role in the 2008 beating death of
his girlfriend's 2-year old son Chase Matthews.
This month, the 6th Appellate District Court of
Texas granted Louis an appeal, reversing that conviction, and it all
comes down to evidence.


According to Corey Don
Louis' appeal, there wasn't sufficient proof that he knowingly and
intentionally killed Matthews, which is a requirement for capital murder
charges.
"The evidence at trial was that he has no intent,
if fact, he wasn't even present, even in the same county when the acts
were committed by Mrs. Cuba," Louis’ attorney Steven Miears said.
He says the child's mother, Danielle Cuba, was
the one who ultimately caused Matthews death and that she lied on the
stand during Louis' trial.
"For a number of reasons, juries can be led into
wrongful conviction, and in this case, they were, and fortunately the
court of appeals was able to correct that," said Miears.
Fannin County District Attorney Richard Glaser
now has the option to try Louis on a lesser charge, but he says he's
handed the case over to the state prosecuting attorney and that they're
both against the acquittal.
"The sufficiency of the evidence, both legal and
factual, was there. We think that there was no real mistake of fact,"
Glaser said.
He also says beating a child to the point of death is a conscious act.
"That child was beaten. He wasn't just spanked,
and if you beat a 2-year old child enough, they'll die, and that's what
happened in this case," said Glaser.
It was in the 336th District Court that Louis was convicted last year, and Glaser says that conviction should stick.
"We feel that this beating was so severe that it justifies life in prison without the benefit of parole."
That's why he says the state prosecuting attorney
will fight to uphold the capital murder charge by either sending it
back to the appeals court for a rehearing or taking it straight to the
supreme court of criminal appeals.
"The child deserves that in his memory, and the public deserves it as well," Glaser said.
Louis remains in prison, as the process
continues. The child's mother, Danielle Denise Cuba, is serving 50 year
in prison for her role in the murder.

The original story.

BONHAM, Tex. -- Bond has been
set for a Bonham couple accused of beating a two-year old. Danielle
Denise Cuba, 22, and Cory Don Louis, 38, have been charged with injury
to a child, a first degree felony.
Cuba and Louis were each being held on $500,000
bonds. Investigators say they believe Cuba’s son was severely beaten
with a belt and then hung by his wrists from a closet clothing rod.


Authorities say Saturday
morning, Cuba called 911 and said her child wasn't breathing. The child
was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Police say the boy was likely beaten to death with a belt.
Police think the two-year-old, who is Cuba’s son,
was beaten excessively with a belt and then hung by his wrists on a
closet clothing rod.
There were three other children at home, who were
checked out by medical examiners. Authorities say another child, a
three-year-old, was found to have significant injury, and is still in
the hospital. The other two children are in the custody of Child
Protective Services.
Bonham Police Chief Mike Bankston said, "There's
some satisfaction at least those other three children in that home will
not be in harm's way for a while, hopefully maybe never."
Despite the fact that there were four children
living in the home, one of the couple's neighbors on 12th Street say
they saw Louis at the house, but never saw any children.
"The death of a small child is much more
traumatic for everyone involved. This case will take toll on a lot of
people," Fannin County district attorney Richard Glaser says.
Three other children were found in the home. They
are now in the care of child protective services. The two-year old died
over the weekend. Autopsy results are pending.

BONHAM, TX --
After a two-year-old was murdered in Bonham last year, now the trial
against his mother’s boyfriend is underway in Fannin County.
Fannin County district attorney Richard Glaser is
prosecuting the case against Corey Don Louis. Louis and his girlfirend,
Danielle Denise Cuba, are charged with the beating death of Cuba's
2-year old son, Channing Terrell Matthews, in March of 2008. Police say
the toddler was beaten with a belt then hung by his wrists from a rod in
the closet.
Revered Jefferey Adams remembered his foster son at his
funeral last year. Adams and his wife, Tabitha, are Cuba's relatives,
and the couple raised ‘Terrell’ since he was a baby.


"Just a joyous little boy, he really was," Adams says.
But when Cuba asked for him back, they were
forced to do so since they did not have legal custody of Terrell. At
Terrell's funeral, Adams said he still remembers the good times they
shared, and how that sweet little boy changed his life.
"We took him into the grocery store, we'd have to
chase him because he would grab the bottom of the buggy and push the
buggy all over the store, and he just would cry and rant and rave if we
took the buggy from him."
Tommy Smith, a friend of Corey Don Louis, says he thinks Louis is innocent.
"I couldn’t believe it. I still don’t believe that he is capable of doing that kind of stuff."
Louis' longtime friend says he does not beleive he is capable of harming anyone.
"I’ve never known him to be a violent person,
never know him to have a fight or anything, he has always treated people
with respect and respected others, and people give him that respect."
Cuba pled guilty to capital murder and injury to a
child and in September and has been sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Meanwhile Glaser says his team expects Louis's trial to last for at
least another week.
"They are very time consuming. The defendant has
the right to a fair trial, and we will see he receives a fair trial, as
well as the victim," Glaser said.
Tommy Smith still stands behind his friend Corey Don Louis as the trial of his life continues.
"I just hope and pray to God that he will prevail and see him through because I know he didn’t do this."
But as district attorney Richard Glaser says, it will be a group of Louis’s peers who will decide his fate.
"We will leave that for the jury to determine.”
Glaser says there is still a lot of evidence to
analyze, but if convicted Louis could face life in prison without the
possibility of parole.

Tommy Smith, a friend of Corey Don Louis, says he thinks Louis is innocent.
"I couldn’t believe it. I still don’t believe that he is capable of doing that kind of stuff."
Louis' longtime friend says he does not believe he is capable of harming anyone.
"I’ve never known him to be a violent person,
never know him to have a fight or anything, he has always treated people
with respect and respected others, and people give him that respect."

I sure hope his friend is right Tom.