A Texas father who shockingly murdered his own two-year-old daughter on a FaceTime call with her mother has been given a $2 million bond.
Deontray Flanagan made headlines on Monday after pulling his daughter Zevaya Flanagan out of daycare abruptly. He then showed up at a nearby Walmart, where his ex-girlfriend Kairsten Watson, worked. Flanagan hit Watson multiple times in the face before snatching her cell phone and fleeing with baby Zevaya in the car. Police were called, but Flanagan took them on a chase through Harris County with the young child in the vehicle. When Watson and her mother, who also worked at Walmart FaceTimed Flanagan from a different phone, they were met with the unimaginable. The young child was seated on his lap as he violently choked her to death, telling Watson, “This is what you made me do.” He’d also FaceTimed the child’s grandfather to show him Zevaya’s lifeless body. Sadly, when the 30-mile police pursuit ended after Flanagan wrecked his car and stopped in a field, officers found Zevaya’s battered body. She was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
On Tuesday, Flanagan’s bond was set at $1 million. However, on Wednesday, a judge bumped it up to $2 million, despite prosecutors pleading for a $5 million bond. His charges could soon be upgraded from first-degree murder to capital murder, which makes him eligible for the death penalty, as reported by ABC 13. Prosecutors will make that determination after the autopsy is completed.
Days prior to Flanagan killing his daughter, Watson called 911 several times to report that Flanagan was harassing her. She’d recently broken up with him and was trying to move on with her life. The now distraught mother believes her daughter’s death could have been prevented had police acted on the threats.
“I told them over and over and over that something was going to be wrong,” Watson told the media outlet.
Flanagan has a violent criminal history, which includes attacking his special needs brother. A public defender has been appointed to him.
