Joanna Shoulder, 9, died in the early morning hours of February 8 at a Fort Worth hospital. She arrived covered in bruises. An autopsy later confirmed what investigators suspected — she had been beaten to death.
Her father, Marquise Anderson, 35, was charged with capital murder of a child under 10 years old on June 17, more than four months after Joanna’s death. He remains held without bond at the Tarrant County Jail.
According to a police affidavit, Fort Worth officers responded to Anderson’s home at 3:15 a.m. after a 911 call. A woman in the home told investigators that Anderson had disciplined Joanna with a belt the day before. Later that night, Anderson woke the woman and claimed Joanna had fallen ill in the bathtub.
When police interviewed Anderson, he admitted that Joanna had wet the bed twice that night. He placed her in the bathtub for three hours. He acknowledged spanking her — and then, after she allegedly smirked at him, admitted to striking her repeatedly with a belt that had a metal buckle.
Anderson told police her condition deteriorated while she sat in the tub — she became sleepy, slurred her speech, and then collapsed. He called 911. Investigators noted that Anderson gave multiple, conflicting explanations for the injuries to Joanna’s head.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s autopsy found extensive hemorrhage in soft tissue, multiple bruises across Joanna’s back, thighs, lower extremities, and flank, along with blunt force injuries to her head and neck, and bleeding along her spinal canal. On June 16, the manner of death was ruled homicide.
If you suspect child abuse, contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-422-4453 (available 24/7)
