Lawrence woman charged with murder in child abuse case

Michael Wetzel, The Decatur Daily, Ala.
·2 min read

Jan. 27—MOULTON — Autopsy results on a 15-month-old Lawrence County child who died last spring prompted murder charges Wednesday against the boy's mother and a Moulton man.

The Lawrence County Sheriff's Office charged the mother, Jordan Ellan Harmon, 27, of Moulton, with murder, two counts of aggravated child abuse and one count of chemical endangerment of a child.

Her boyfriend at the time of the boy's death, Travius Sebastion Coleman, 28, is facing the same charges, the Sheriff's Office said.

Coleman was questioned about the autopsy results and arrested on Tuesday. No bond has been set for either defendant.

On April 11, Harmon met Lawrence County deputies at the intersection of Alabama 24 and Lawrence County 214. Deputies said she was performing CPR on her son, Emery Michael-Knox Wilson, on the floorboard of a minivan.

An ambulance carried the child to Decatur Morgan Hospital, and he was later taken to the Children's of Alabama hospital in Birmingham. The following day Harmon was charged with aggravated child abuse and booked into the county jail with bond set at $60,000.

On April 13, the boy died.

On Sept. 17, Harmon was released from the Lawrence County Jail after posting bond.

Autopsy reports indicated the boy died from blunt force trauma to the head.

Sheriff Max Sanders said the toddler had abrasions, contusions and lacerations to the scalp, a depressed skull fracture and a fractured left forearm.

Also, toxicology from the toddler indicated the presence of cannabinoids, the report from the Sheriff's Office said.

According to a complaint filed by an investigator in Lawrence County District Court in April on what was then an aggravated child abuse charge, Harmon refused to seek medical treatment for her son despite "serious injuries that required medical attention and treatment including ... injuries to his head, arm and groin area on at least three separate occasions."

If convicted of the charges, Coleman and Harmon face up to life in prison.

District Attorney Errek Jett said his office worked with the State Bureau of Investigation and Lawrence County Sheriff's Office on the investigation.

— mike.wetzel@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442. Twitter @DD_Wetzel.