Dallas police have made an arrest in connection with the fatal beating of a high school basketball star believed to be killed iin a fight over a video game.
Troy Causey, who attended Wilmer-Hutchins High School, died March 24, a day after he was severely beaten outside his home.
The Dallas police said Monday that 19-year-old Jonathan Tramaine Turner had been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with Causey's death.
Turner and Causey lived together, according to police, and both were standout athletes at their respective high schools.
"They called each other brothers," said the slain teen's mother, Tammy Simpson. "And I don't think you can't get any closer than that."
Simpson said she had been expecting news of Turner's arrest for several weeks, and that she believes there are other people who should share the blame for her son's death.
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"If this were an accident, fine. OK. Let's deal with it. But now you have an accident that turned into a murder that turned into a cover up. So now I have issues with that. I have great issues with that. And I want everyone involved with the murder and the cover up, I want them prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Simpson said.
Turner was a student-athlete at Madison High School. NBC 5 later confirmed Turner played for Madison's two-time defending Class AAA championship basketball team and was also a member of the All-Tournament Team in March. Causey played for the Wilmer-Hutchins squad.
A spokesperson for the Dallas Independent School District said the incident was "a domestic matter that had nothing to do with the school." An arrest warrant affidavit released by the Dallas Police Department on Monday confirms as much, where investigators allege an argument between Causey and Turner over a video game spilled outside and escalated into the fatal beating.
According to police, Turner admitted to hitting Causey and causing him to fall to the ground, where he hit his head. Causey lost consciousness, fell into a coma and later died.
Police said three witnesses to the fight were interviewed and that all had nearly identical stories, which led detectives to believe the witnesses fabricated and rehearsed the story before speaking with police.
"That became very concerning for detectives. It raised red flags," said Maj. Max Geron of Dallas police. "That is not our experience in how people telling the truth about what occurred, you don't find them telling virtually exactly the same story."
Detectives determined Turner's account of what occurred, and the account of the three witnesses, is not consistent with the results from the autopsy -- which showed a 4-inch skull fracture above Causey's left ear.
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"This kind of skull fracture could not have been caused by the complainant striking the ground, but from blunt force trauma, according to the Dallas County Medical Examiner, Dr. Ventura, M.D.," officials said in an arrest warrant affidavit.
Following the autopsy, an individual came forward who said Turner confessed to being involved in the fight and to kicking Causey in the head while he was on the ground. The individual, who was not present at the fight, said Turner also incriminated another person who also kicked Causey in the head.
At this time, police are not revealing the name of the witness for safety reasons.
Police said a video recording of the fight recorded by one of the witnesses may shed light on exactly what happened, but at this time further details about the recording have not been revealed.
NBC 5's Ben Russell contributed to this report.
