Teen Indicted in Fatal Beating of High School Basketball Star

The mother of Troy Causey, a star basketball player at Dallas’ Wilmer Hutchins High School, says there's no justice for her son.

On Monday, a Dallas County grand jury indicted 19-year-old Jonathan Tramaine Turner for manslaughter in connection with Causey's fatal beating. Police said he was killed in a fight over a video game.

"There's a pain that feels like someone is drilling a hole in your stomach," said Causey's mother Tammy Simpson.

That's how Simpson felt Monday when she found out the person charged for killing her son will not face murder, but indicted for a lesser charge of manslaughter.

"When they said that I just sank," said Simpson. "I felt it in the pit of my stomach. I was trying so hard to keep a brave face, but I couldn't hold it." 

Simpson says it took her back to the day in March when her 18-year-old son was beaten so badly that he died.

Turner, is being held in the Dallas County Jail for his death. The two lived together at the same home when the altercation happened.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit Dallas Police Department 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.

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.

"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.

Causey's mother says her son’s death should never have happened and believes there are more people responsible for his death who were there the night he was beaten.

"He was on his death bed, I promised him that I would get down to the bottom of this and I would hold everybody to justice and feel like I let him down," said Simpson.

Nobody else has been charged in connection with Causey's death. But his mom says she will continue to fight for what she believes is justice for her son.

"To me he's [Troy] still here," said Simpson. "That's how I deal with it. People deal with it in a lot of different ways. How I deal with it is I pretend that he's still here and he's telling me, 'Mama you got to keep doing it.'"

The original bond for Turner was set at $250,000, it was raised Monday to $500,000 and if Turner posts bond he will be required to wear an electronic monitor.

NBC 5's Johnny Archer contributed to this report.

Contact Us