PORT ARTHUR, Texas — A third suspect is in police custody for his alleged involvement in the death of a 4-year-old boy with disabilities who was found malnourished in a Port Arthur home.
Officers found King Dewey's body on May 31, 2022, around 7:25 a.m. at a house in the 300 block of Richmond Ave of Port Arthur.
Jaylin Jevon Lewis was arrested on two felony warrants for injury to a child, according to Jefferson County Sheriff Zena Stephens. It was a group effort involving the Jefferson County Fugitive Warrant Division and U.S. Marshal Task Force.
"The circumstances surrounding [Dewey's] death were terrible. Our guys took it personally and spent a lot of time doing good police work, tracking leads, to track [Lewis] down," Stephens told 12News.
Lewis was found in the Houston area and was transferred to the Jefferson County Jail, Stephens said. Lewis is booked in jail on two charges of injury to a child, and his bond is set at $800,000 for each charge, jail records show.
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.
Editor's Note: In prior stories, 12News reported King Dewey was only 3 years old. That was based on information from Port Arthur Police and court documents. The boy's grandmother says he was 4 years old at the time of his death.
Officers found the boy early Tuesday when someone at the house called the police. When police got to the home, they say the boy looked like a skeleton.
Port Arthur Police said the child had been locked in a closet.
"They did notice a closet that was padlocked,” Port Arthur Police detective Mike Hebert said. “They entered into that closet and it was infested with insects and it was filthy condition. The investigation would show that baby king was placed in that closet.
He weighed only 19 pounds, according to Justice of the Peace Mark Derouen.
Hebert said it appeared the little boy had suffered from severe malnutrition and had a "skeletal appearance."
This is a breaking news story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
GET NEWS & WEATHER ALERTS | Download the 12News App to your mobile device
