Warrant: Denton mom, charged in death of 7-year-old son, knew boyfriend was abusing child

A Denton mother, who is the second person arrested in connection to the death of her 7-year-old child, told police that she knew her boyfriend was abusing her son and that she believes if she called for help when the abuse began, her son would still be alive, according to her arrest warrant affidavit.

Sabrina Ho and her boyfriend, Todd Shaw, were charged with injury to a child after Ho’s 7-year-old son, Phoenix, died from ‘“suspicious and extensive injuries,” on April 1, police said. Phoenix was found with injuries including “bilateral eye bruising, abrasions on his right eyebrow and under his left eye, bruising on his forehead and entire face,” warrants for Shaw and Ho said.

The child also had bruises and a burn on his shoulders; swelling on his neck; bruises on his abdomen, thighs, groin and knees; and injuries to his penis, the warrants said.

Shaw was arrested Friday evening after a report that Phoenix was having a medical emergency and was unconscious inside the couple’s home in the 1600 block of East McKinney Street. Ho was arrested Tuesday after admitting to detectives that she knew her boyfriend had abused her son for at least four weeks, the warrants say.

“Sabrina explained that (Shaw) injured her son’s penis during the week of March 7th,” the warrant said. “... Sabrina stated that she did not seek medical attention because she thought that she would get into trouble. Sabrina also stated that she kept the victim home from school because she was worried that school personnel would notice the various injuries that the victim had.”

Ho also told police Tuesday that on the weekend of March 25, she found her son with injuries that caused his eyes to swell up. She again kept Phoenix at home for “about 3 weeks for fear that someone would notice the injuries,” the documents say.

Ho reportedly lied to police when they questioned her at the couple’s home on April 1. Police said Ho initially told them that she and Shaw were in their room when they heard a loud thud from the 7-year-old’s bedroom and that he was unconscious around 2 p.m. She waited over five hours to call emergency services because she “tried to nurse the victim until she realized that she needed to call for help,” her warrant said.

Police said her account was not consistent with the boy’s injuries.

Ho later admitted that she was in her bedroom when Shaw called her over because something was wrong with the young boy, police said.

“The victim’s mother stated that the 7-year-old victim was laying in the hallway on the ground. The victim’s eyes were rolled back into his skull with only the whites of his eyes showing,” Ho’s warrant said. “Sabrina Ho explained that she thought the suspect hurt the victim because he has hurt the victim in the past. Sabrina explained that last Friday she came home and saw that the victim had bruising on his face which was due to the suspect. (Shaw) stated that (Phoenix) was acting up and that he went too far.”

Ho told police that she waited to call 911 because she was scared of getting into trouble, the warrant said. She admitted to police that she believed if she called for help earlier that the 7-year-old would still be alive.

“Sabrina explained that she had ample opportunity to remove herself and the victim from the suspect over the course of 4 weeks but she failed to do so,” the warrant said. “Sabrina did not seek any type of medical attention when she stated that she needed to, for fear of getting into trouble, and because of not seeking medical attention the victim’s injury to his penis appeared to look worse with each new day.”

In a news conference Wednesday morning, Denton Deputy Chief Frank Padgett said the police department’s investigation remains ongoing and there’s a chance for additional charges to be filed.

“We want to wait on evidence from the medical examiner’s office and make sure that we have everything that we need,” Padgett said.

Both Shaw and Ho remain in custody Wednesday afternoon. Shaw’s bond is set at $1 million and Ho is held on $500,000 bond.