June 4, 2022
Texas — Port Arthur Police are searching for a third suspect in connection with the death investigation of a 3-year-old boy with disabilities found malnourished Tuesday.
The boy’s mother Tina Louis, 43, and his sister, Kirsten Louis, 21, are charged individually with two counts of injury to a child, according to jail records. Tina Louis also faces an additional charge of failure to identify.
Port Arthur Police announced Thursday that they’re searching for an additional suspect in connection with the death of the three-year-old boy. 24-year-old Jaylin Jevon Lewis is wanted on two warrants for injury to a child.
Anyone who may know information about the third suspect, Lewis, is encouraged to contact the Port Arthur Police Department.
Investigators with the Port Arthur Police said they found the child dead Tuesday around 7:25 a.m. in a Port Arthur home in the 300 block of Richmond Ave.
Police said family members told officials the child had a form of down syndrome. Detective Mike Hebert told 12News the child weighed 19 pounds when he was found.
Two other children were on the property when police arrived, according to police.
They were later taken to CPS and are currently safe with relatives, police said.
The investigation also revealed that the home had a closet with a padlocked door.
Police say Kirsten Louis identified herself as the child’s older sister and caretaker at the time. She told police she took in the boy in early May 2022. She also said the boy was losing weight while she was caring for him, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Kirsten Louis told police the weight loss worried her, so she reached out to her mother Tina Louis with the intent to get the child some help.
Kirsten Louis told police Tina said the boy’s weight was normal due to his condition and advised her to feed him milk and vitamins.
Kirsten Louis said she didn’t think milk and vitamins were enough but she also didn’t seek further advice, the affidavit says.
Kirsten Louis also admitted the victim needed medical attention due to his physical state but she did not call the police or EMS due to the fear of having her siblings, including the victim removed by Child Protective Services.
“This is a very fluid investigation. The entire investigations division was involved in that case so there’s so many moving parts right now,” Hebert
“This particular case, there were 30-year veteran officers there that were shook up over what they saw,” said Port Arthur Police Detective Mike Hebert.
Investigators said they found the child’s body at the home in an extremely malnourished condition.
“People always say it comes with the job but not something like this. This is just horrible. It’s just horrible,” Hebert said.
