Details surrounding a 4-year-old girl’s death in June are becoming clearer, and Harris County Child Protective Services believes the Magnolia boyfriend of the girl’s mother may be connected to the case.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office has not made any arrests in the case, but no one is being ruled out, said Christina Garza, media relations manager for HCSO. Investigators are waiting on the results of an autopsy being conducted by the Southeast Texas Forensic Center in Conroe.

On June 27, Abigail Young called 9-1-1 because her daughter, Emma Thompson, had just vomited before becoming unconscious. An ambulance met Young, who was in the car, on West Rayford Road at Gosling, and took Thompson to Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital, where Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace Eddie Connelly pronounced her dead.

About three weeks earlier, Harris County CPS received a call from Thompson’s pediatrician saying that she had blisters on her mouth, fingers and genitalia area, said Estella Olguin, spokeswoman for Harris Country CPS. On June 12, doctors confirmed that the blistering was a result of genital herpes, a sexually transmitted disease.

“The mom said she didn’t know how the child got herpes and that she didn’t have it,” Olguin said.

At the time Thompson was seen by her pediatrician, she did not have any trauma to her genital area. She was taken to Texas Children’s Hospital for examination, and doctors also found no such trauma. Herpes is usually transferred through sexual contact, but it also can be passed by skin to skin contact, Olgiun said.

Then, Harris County CPS learned of Thompson’s death. Thompson had bruises on her body and stomach and trauma to her vaginal area when brought to the hospital June 27.

“Once the death happened, the mom told us about her boyfriend in the home; and we have a long history with him,” Olguin said.

Young also told officials she does have herpes and had confided the information to her mother.

Young’s boyfriend, Lucas Coe, is facing charges in Montgomery County for injury to a child. Young and her husband are in the process of a divorce.

Coe, 27, of Magnolia, allegedly struck a boy on the head in 2007, according to Coe’s indictment. After the alleged incident, his stepson and daughter were taken to live with their grandparents, Olguin said. Since then, he allegedly had unsupervised contact with his daughter. As a result, she and her brother were placed in foster care. A custody hearing on the matter is scheduled for this month in the 9th state District Court, she said.

Coe also has a criminal history that includes aggravated assault, criminal mischief and driving while intoxicated.

Given Young and Coe’s living arrangements, CPS took custody of Young’s two other daughters, ages 6 and 11, following a hearing in the 257th state District Court in Harris County last week. The daughters now are living with Young’s husband, who is the father of Thompson and the 6-year-old, Olgiun said. The 11-year-old’s father, who lives several hours away, agreed to the arrangement to keep the sisters together.

Officials are waiting to take action because the results of the autopsy report most likely will determine whether arrests will be made in connection with Thompson’s death. Connelly said she does not know why the autopsy is taking longer than usual to complete.

http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2009/08/03/conroe_courier/news/
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Emphasis added by H4K Editor