Father charged with death of malnourished boy blames tragedy on allergic reaction, police say

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JOHN WEST

More than a month after two Auburn parents were charged over the death of their malnourished 6-year-old son, court testimony revealed the boy’s father and grandmother blamed the tragedy on a backlash allergic to VapoRub.

Kelly Watford, who faces one count of murder, appeared in court on Wednesday. She remains in the Lee County Jail without bond. Mark Watford, her husband and the father of her seven children, also faces one count of aggravated child abuse in Sulivans’ death. He was released on $30,000 bond.

Judge Russell Bush determined there was enough evidence to present the case to a grand jury at a later date.

Auburn Police Detective Terry White said law enforcement was called to the 2200 block of Core Drive in reference to Sulivan being in medical distress. They found the unconscious boy at the scene and attempted to revive him. He was then transported to East Alabama Health, where he was pronounced dead.

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White said the boy weighed 21 pounds at the time of his death. He added that he was very fragile, pale and his veins were visible.

Police say Mark Watford and Janet Dean, Kelly Watford’s mother, told authorities Sulivan died of an allergic reaction. Mark Watford, a nurse, said the allergic reaction stemmed from exposure to VapoRub.

Authorities said in a news release that evidence consistent with drowning was discovered during both medical treatment and autopsy.

White told the court he heard Kelly Watford’s 911 call. He said he heard 911 operators telling Kelly Watford how to perform CPR on Sulivan and heard Watford count the chest compressions. However, there were no signs of life when EMS arrived.

White said he saw Sulivan’s body at the hospital. He said the boy was naked and very fragile with water in his mouth. He told the court the boy was malnourished and the blood medical professionals removed from his body was bright red, watery and runny.

District Attorney Garrett Saucer told White about a small bruise on Sulivan’s collarbone. White said he didn’t know what caused the bruise.

Defense attorney Algert Agricola, who introduced Kelly Watford, took issue with the whites’ comments about the boys’ blood. Agricola wanted to know if White had any training that could tell him if something was different in the Sulivans’ blood. White said no.

White testified that Kelly Watford was unfazed and very calm when she found out her son was dead. Agricola said Kelly Watford was a skilled counselor and would have been trained to stay calm.

Prosecutors said Kelly and Mark Watford waived their rights to Miranda and made statements. The prosecution read both statements in court.

In Kelly Watford’s statement to police, she said Sulivan did not feel well on June 14. She said her son, the youngest of seven children, was a picky eater who only ate yoghurt and fruit.

On the day Sulivan died, Kelly Watford said she went to Walmart to pick up medicine and VapoRub. She said she gave Sulivan a bath and some VapoRub around 2 p.m. She said the tub only had enough water to cover her son’s legs. After the bath, she would have taken him to her room, rocked him, and put him in a onesie. At some point, Sulivan stopped breathing and she called 911.

Mark Watford’s statement to police confirmed the couple had seven children, aged 6 to 18, with Sulivan being the youngest. Watford said Sulivan was developing slowly and had problems with speech and vocabulary. He mentioned that his son was mostly crawling. He said Kelly mainly cared for the boy, feeding him and changing his diapers. He said he knew Sulivan was underdeveloped.

Mark Watford mentioned that his family did not believe in vaccines and did not use contraception. He said his wife was never excited when she found out they were pregnant. He said his wife fed the children organic non-GMO foods with no dyes. He said she wouldn’t intentionally hurt their children. He said he had noticed the previous week that Sulivan’s hips were visible. On June 13, he noticed that Sulivan had developed a cough. June 13 was also the last day he said he saw Sulivan alive, according to his statements to police.

The father said on June 14 that he was on his way home from work and stopped at the Roccos Chicken Joint for some dinner. At 5:52 p.m., he had received a call from Kelly asking him if he was almost home. At 6:27 p.m. Mark received a call from the doctor saying Sulivan was dead.

Kelly wouldn’t have drowned my son, Mark Watford told police. He said his son had an allergic reaction to the vaporub.

Sworn testimony from one of Watford’s other children said Kelly deliberately left the bathroom door closed with Sulivan still in the tub. The testimony says she told the kids to give us a minute. The unnamed Watford child said his mother was on the phone with 911 about 15 minutes later.

Kelly Watford’s mother, Janet Dean, said in an affidavit that Sulivan was fine and had an allergic reaction to some products. The family also accused the Sulivans of coughing on a rug that had recently been ripped out.

The prosecution, however, pointed to photos extracted from Kelly Watford’s phone which they say contradict those claims. A photo dated January 24, six months before Sulivans died, showed Vics Vapopads on a chair in the boys’ bedroom. Photos dating back to May 22, 2022, 13 months before Sulivans died, showed where the rug had already been pulled. White said another photo from Dec. 24 showed Sulivan as small with clearly visible bones in his hands.

White said Kelly’s brother Chad West saw Sulivan at Thanksgiving 2022 playing on the floor. He didn’t see her at Christmas.

Additionally, White was asked about Kelly Watford’s first phone call after his incarceration. He said she called her mother Janet Dean. He said Watford’s main concerns on the call were dealing with bills, getting finances in order and making sure the house was clean before the Department of Human Resources arrived. .

Dean would have answered, Don’t worry baby. I will cover you.

According to Agricola, Kelly Watford cooperated fully with the police. He accused White of trying to use coercive tactics on Watford. He said White said it looked like we should charge you with murder. White said he wouldn’t have said that if the evidence hadn’t backed him up.

Agricola further requested that all videos from Watford’s phone be made available, along with the photos.

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