Two men arrested on charges of injury to a child after 3-year-old boy dies, Fort Worth police say

Two men were arrested on charges of injury to a child after a 3-year-old boy died last year while he was under state supervision, Fort Worth police said Wednesday.

Deondrick Foley, 36, and Joseph Delancy, 29, were arrested Friday, months after 3-year-old Amari Boone suffered blunt force trauma to his head in April.

Foley was charged with seven counts of injury to a child by omission resulting in bodily injury, and Delancy was charged with injury to a child by omission that resulted in serious bodily injury.

Both men were Amari’s caretakers at the time of his death.

Delancy and Foley brought Amari to Cook Children’s Medical Center on April 10, and he died two days later.

Delancy told detectives that he and Foley had been preparing to get Amari and his brother, who was 19 months old at the time, ready for daycare that morning, according to an affidavit. When Delancy walked in, he found the boys’ playpen lying on top of an unresponsive Amari, the affidavit said.

Foley went to check Amari’s pulse and heard “gargled breathing,” the affidavit said, and blood was seen coming from his nose and ear.

An autopsy report revealed that Amari suffered multiple injuries related to head trauma, including hemorrhaging in parts of his brain, the affidavit said.

Amari and his brother were placed in the men’s care Jan. 27, 2020, after the boys’ father approached Foley about becoming their guardians, the affidavit said. A spokeswoman for Child Protective Services said they conducted background checks and made visits before placing the boys in their care.

Delancy told police that Amari liked to jump off the bed and has hit his head multiple times, but Foley said that he had never seen Amari do that before, according to the affidavit.

Foley said Amari was well-mannered, well-behaved and quiet, the affidavit said, and Foley told police that Delancy was the “disciplinarian” of the house.

A few weeks before his death, Delancy said Amari had run into a door frame and had a bump on his eye, which resulted in a call to a CPS caseworker, the affidavit said.

On April 9, Foley and Delancy picked up the boys from daycare and Foley said he thought Amari seemed subdued, according to the affidavit. When they got home, Foley left for about half an hour to get food and diapers, and when he got back, Amari was already asleep. Foley said he didn’t see Amari again until the next morning, the affidavit said.

Delancy said Amari had wet his bed that night. When Delancy was changing Amari on the bathroom counter, he left to get wipes from the living room and came back and found that Amari had hit his head and was on the floor.

Delancy told police that Amari was talking and responsive, but his head was hurting. Amari watched TV until he fell asleep, and Delancy put him back in bed, the affidavit said.

Amari had previously been taken to the Cook Children’s Medical Center twice, according to the affidavit. On Feb. 18, he was admitted after he tripped down the stairs and had leg pain. It was later discovered that he had a pelvic fracture, the affidavit said.

On March 8, Amari was admitted with signs of physical abuse after reportedly spending time with his biological parents, the affidavit said.

A search warrant conducted by detectives of the Foley and Delancy’s Facebook messages showed that they often spoke about Amari’s injuries, including a video Delancy sent to Foley of Amari walking with a distinct limp and the caption “he movin a lot betta today.”

The pair also argued over Delancy being too hard on Amari and Foley not being strict enough. From January to April, they regularly discussed buying alcohol and marijuana, the affidavit said.

Another search warrant for electronics revealed Google searches the men conducted while the boys were in their custody, including: “how to keep your foster child,” “how to beat cps,” “can I get food stamps for my foster child,” and “how to get a new CPS caseworker.”

The men were reported by several people through the statewide intake division from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, according to the affidavit. On March 7, the boys’ biological parents said Delancy had been hitting Amari and that he had a bruise on his chest and back.

On March 17, another person reported that the men were beating the boys and that Delancy had injured Amari’s lip. The person said Amari was scared of Delancy, and the men drank and smoked marijuana around the boys every day, the affidavit said.

Delancy’s acquaintance told police that when she first met Amari, he was talkative, but the last time she saw him, his face was swollen and he wouldn’t talk. In February, Amari had urinated on himself and Delancy disciplined him by spanking him at least five times, the affidavit said.

The younger brother was removed from the men’s care in April.

Fort Worth police said the investigation is ongoing and the charges may be upgraded later.