- Michigan mom and boyfriend sentenced for killing 7-year-old son in 2023.
- Prosecutors described the case as “one of the most brutal” in recent memory.
- Boy suffered blunt force trauma to head and pelvis; his body showed severe scarring.
- Aunt called the killing a “sick, demonic, ritual-like crime.”
- Judge said videos showed the child “crying for his life.”
DETROIT, Mich. — A Michigan mother and her boyfriend have been sentenced to decades in prison for the horrific killing of her 7-year-old son, a case described by family members and prosecutors as one of the most disturbing acts of child abuse seen in the state.
Alisha Hollamon, 25, and Avion Traylor, 23, pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder in the 2023 death of Deshawn Williams, according to court records. Wayne County prosecutors confirmed that Hollamon will serve 20 to 40 years, while Traylor received a 28- to 60-year sentence.
Police discovered the battered child shortly after midnight on October 22, 2023, when officers responded to a home on Hurlbut Street in Detroit following reports of child abuse. Emergency responders found Deshawn covered in scars and abrasions across his face, back, and chest. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
An autopsy revealed that the boy died from blunt force trauma to his head and pelvis, the latter broken in half. During court proceedings, Assistant Prosecutor Tina Ripley described the child’s suffering in harrowing detail.
“It looked as though he was dragged across a rough surface,” Ripley said. “There are just simply no words to describe how absolutely brutalized Deshawn was. Based on the facts and evidence we have, Deshawn lived a nightmare.”
Investigators determined that Traylor inflicted the fatal abuse while Hollamon stood by and did nothing to intervene. The pair were originally charged with felony murder, first-degree child abuse, and torture, but those additional counts were dropped under a plea deal.
In a tense sentencing hearing, Deshawn’s aunt, Krystal Hollamon, delivered an emotional statement in court, calling the killing a “sick, demonic, ritual-like crime.” Directing her anger toward Traylor, she described him as evil, saying his mother “gave birth to a demon.”
Wayne County Circuit Judge Paul Cusick, who presided over the case, said it was among the most horrific he had ever encountered in nearly 30 years on the bench. The judge said he personally reviewed videos showing Deshawn “crying for his life.”
“This case haunts everyone who’s come in contact with it,” Cusick said, describing the crime as a grim reminder of the unseen violence many children endure behind closed doors.
The sentencing brings a measure of closure to Deshawn’s grieving relatives but leaves lingering questions about how such extreme abuse went unnoticed until it was too late.
Read More: Michigan Father Accused of Killing Teen Son, Shooting Two Children Ahead of Court Sentencing
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