Thank you for reading D.C. Witness.
Help us continue our mission into 2025 by donating to our end of year campaign.
By
D.C. Witness Staff
- November 13, 2017
Homicides
|
Victims
|
A mom who fatally beat her three-year-old son was found guilty of murder.
This month, a jury found Frances Lyles guilty of felony murder and first-degree cruelty to children for killing her son, Xavier, in 2014.
She will be sentenced in January.
According to details released by the prosecution, Lyles beat her three-year-old son, Xavier, on June 18, for upsetting her newborn’s bouncer seat. A few days later, Lyles became upset again with Xavier when he was running around their apartment in Southeast Washington. She repeatedly beat him and caused multiple bruises and a lacerated liver. As a result of her force, Xavier’s kidney avulsed and he lost approximately one third of his blood from internal bleeding.
Lyles had initially led law enforcement to believe that her boyfriend had beaten the child when she left Xavier in his care. After weeks of following her leads, law enforcement found that it was Lyles responsible through her outgoing phone calls. In several phone calls, she had admitted to “whooping” her child several times. On Sept. 16, 2014, Lyles was arrested and has been held in custody ever since.
The felony murder charge that she is charged with carries and enhancement based on Xavier’s young age and the heinous nature of Lyles’ crime. Lyle faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without possibility of release.