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A woman has pleaded guilty to manslaughter for killing her 4-year-old nephew, King Lyons, according to The Mobile County District Attorney’s Office in Alabama.
Authorities in February 2022 initially charged both Yolanda Denise Coale, 55, and the victim’s 9-year-old sister in King’s broom beating death, but Tara Zieman, communications director for the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office, told Law&Crime on Monday that they’ve since dropped the case against the sister. She confirmed that the 9-year-old girl had no part in the killing and that the plea from Coale, who had blamed the sister the entire time, “lets that little girl off the hook.”
Yolanda Denise Coale pleaded guilty to manslaughter for killing her nephew, King Lyons. (Mug shot: Mobile Police Department)
A responding officer testified in a preliminary hearing that Lyons was “cold to touch,” lying on his back with a pink towel on his face, according to Mobile NBC affiliate WPMI last year. King had bruising under his eyes, a cut on top of his nose, and cuts to his lips. His body also displayed other signs of abuse, including old scarring.
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A 6-year-old relative at the home reportedly described seeing Coale slap and whip Lyons with a belt on multiple instances. She also described there being a “lock-up room” where Coale put the children if they misbehaved.
Coale, the victim’s caregiver, also once denied Lyons water because of potty accidents, according to details from WKRG. She laughed at the sight of him drinking from the toilet.
“That’s what he gets,” she said.
Items that Coale used to beat Lyons included a back scratcher, broom, and an electrical cord, according to testimony.
She is scheduled for sentencing to take place on Feb. 15, 2024, according to Mobile CBS affiliate WKRG.
