Stepmom gets 20 years in prison for 12-year-old boy’s death after multiple technical issues delayed indictments

SAN ANTONIO (TCN) -- The stepmother of a 12-year-old boy who died due to severe abuse in 2022 has been sentenced to 20 years behind bars.

KSAT reports that on May 11, 31-year-old Kapri Cheatom was sentenced 20 years in prison for the death of Danilo Coles, the maximum allowed as part of her plea deal. She was found guilty of first-degree injury to a child causing serious bodily injury.

On Feb. 6, 2022, police were called to a home after receiving a report that a child had been injured after falling in the shower. At the hospital, medical staff determined that Coles’ injuries were not consistent with what his father and stepmother had reported. He had suffered internal bleeding, had whipping marks, and had severe injuries to his buttocks in which skin was hanging off. Coles was pronounced brain-dead and died at the hospital that same day. 

Investigators learned that Coles had recently moved in with his father, Derrick Coles, and his stepmother, Cheatom, after his mother lost custody of him due to alleged abuse. Cheatom reportedly told interviewers that Coles was disrespectful to her and her husband, so they punished Coles by beating him, hitting him with a belt, and making him hold heavy boxes over his head. He had do push-ups if unable to lift the boxes.

Law & Crime reports that Coles was forced to write “I will obey all people in the household” repeatedly in a notebook in addition to the other punishments. The medical examiner determined that Coles’ cause of death was toxicity due to overexercising and that the manner of death was homicide.

KSAT reports that initially, Cheatom’s charges were dismissed three months after Coles died because Texas law requires an indictment within 90 days of an arrest. A year later, after questions were raised about why no indictment had been filed, it was determined that technical issues caused the delays, and that the case could not move forward until there was a final report from the medical examiner’s office.

In a statement to KSAT, the Bexar District Attorney’s Office said the autopsy report was sent to the DA, but a technical error prevented it from making its way into the case files on time. 

Cheatom and Derrick Coles were indicted in September 2023, according to KSAT.

Derrick Coles was sentenced to 45 years in prison on Oct. 20, 2025, KSAT reported at the time. He was found guilty of multiple felony charges, including first-degree injury to a child resulting in serious bodily injury.

Judge Joel Perez said to Cheatom at her sentencing, “The injuries to this child are too extensive to not have noticed, to not have known, to not have done something about it,” KSAT reports. “You failed to protect this 12-year-old boy.”

Per KSAT, Cheatom will receive credit for time already served, and will be eligible for parole after serving half of the sentence. 

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