Texas Mother and Her Boyfriend Now Charged With Capital Murder After 3-Year-Old Son Dies From Severe Abuse, Father Says
MCKINNEY, TEXAS — A Texas mother and her boyfriend are now facing capital murder charges after the death of a 3-year-old boy whose father says the child suffered catastrophic brain injuries when the boyfriend violently beat him in October. The child, Dawson Zamora, died on Dec. 7 after weeks in a medically induced coma, prompting prosecutors to upgrade the charges against his mother, Chelsea Berg, 30, and her boyfriend, Christopher Thomas Alexander, 30.
Dawson’s father, Dahrian Zamora, publicly described the deterioration of his son’s condition in emotional Facebook posts, saying the abuse left the toddler with global brain damage, rigid limbs, and a vegetative state. “My Son Dawson is not ‘Dawson’ anymore,” he wrote days before the boy’s death.
Father Says Boy Suffered Extreme Trauma: ‘Feet Point Straight, No Bend at the Ankle’
According to Zamora, Dawson had awakened from a medically induced coma “over a month ago,” but remained unresponsive and severely disabled. He wrote that the child did not smile, cry, or react to movement. His body had become stiff, with his wrists curled inward and his feet pointed straight out without flexibility.
Medical scans, he said, continued to show devastating and irreversible brain damage.
Zamora announced Dawson’s death on Dec. 7 — which was also his own birthday — saying, “His gift to me was his final breath and we are now forever interlocked with my birth and his death.”
He added: “My son didn’t have to die, this could have been prevented.”
Mother and Boyfriend Accused of Allowing and Inflicting Fatal Abuse
Court records reviewed by Law&Crime show that Berg’s charges were upgraded to capital murder of a person under 10 following the child’s death. Alexander, who had already been charged with injury to a child, stalking, and tampering with evidence, is now also charged with capital murder.
Alexander allegedly brought Dawson to a hospital in McKinney — a major suburb north of Dallas — claiming he heard a “thud” before finding the child injured. However, doctors told investigators the toddler’s injuries were not consistent with such an explanation.
Medical staff documented:
- A significant brain bleed
- Bruising in multiple stages of healing
- Trauma to the chest and abdomen
- Other injuries indicating repeated assault
Police determined the child had been violently beaten.
Mother Allegedly Failed to Protect Child; Father Fought for Custody
Investigators say Berg left Dawson alone with Alexander around 7:20 a.m. on the day of the assault. She later received a text about the boy eating lunch, followed by a frantic phone call about taking him to the hospital. Detectives said Berg initially repeated Alexander’s claim about the “thud,” but when shown photos of Dawson’s injuries, she insisted he did not have such wounds when she left for work.
Zamora, the child’s father, fought to prevent Berg from gaining access to the hospital, filing for an order of protection. A judge ruled on Oct. 28 that Berg could only have supervised contact with her children.
Zamora was granted sole conservatorship and full decision-making authority, including medical decisions for Dawson. “Chelsea has no say so or power in anything with my kids,” he wrote online.
Both Suspects in Custody; Capital Murder Charges Filed
Berg had been released earlier after posting a $100,000 bond on her initial charges but was rearrested Monday on the upgraded capital murder charge. No bond has been set.
Alexander has remained in custody since Oct. 14 and is being held on the new charge as well.
A GoFundMe created for Dawson’s medical care stated the boy was “tragically abused,” reflecting the widespread public outrage surrounding the case.
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