Justices reject Arlington woman’s Death Row appeal

The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to review an appeal from an Arlington woman on Death Row for her role in starving a 9-year-old boy to death a decade ago.

In 2006, Lisa Ann Coleman was convicted in the death of Davontae Williams, one of three children of her live-in girlfriend, Marcella Williams.

The justices rejected Coleman’s appeal with no comment.

Davontae’s body was found July 26, 2004. He had been beaten, bound, neglected and starved. He weighed 35 pounds and had more than 250 scars, the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office reported.

Williams was also charged with capital murder. After Coleman was sentenced, Williams pleaded guilty in exchange for a life sentence.

Coleman does not have an execution date.

Child Protective Services first investigated Williams in 1995 when she was 14 and Davontae was 2 months old. Caseworkers investigated her six more times until 2002 when they lost track of the family.

Davontae’s death was one of several cases cited in 2005 when the state Legislature passed a bill sponsored by state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, that overhauled the state’s protective services agencies.