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First responders arriving at the Richmond Avenue home in response to a possible cardiac arrest were met with the sight of a severely malnourished special needs boy.

The four-year-old child, King Dewey, was described as emaciated and weighed 19 pounds at his death. He had no pulse and was not breathing when emergency personnel arrived May 31, 2022.

Dewey’s sister Kirsten Louis, now 24, had called 911 explaining the child had Down Syndrome and had been having seizures and was not breathing. Louis and her boyfriend Jaylin Jevon Lewis, now 25, were caring for Dewey and his siblings. The child’s mother, Tina Louis, reportedly had not seen Dewey since December 2021 as she was living the Houston area.

On Tuesday Kirsten Louis pleaded guilty to two, first-degree felony counts of injury to a child. She was sentenced to 30 years on each charge to run concurrently and waived the right to an appeal. The case was heard in 252^nd District Court presided over by Judge Raquel West.

Jaylin Lewis is also charged with two, first-degree felony counts of injury to a child. His trial began Tuesday afternoon in West’s court.

Port Arthur Fireman Jacob Rodriguez, who is also a trained EMS, described the child as frail looking and emaciated. After his initial assessment Rodriguez tried to perform CPR but was unable to do so because there were early signs of rigor setting in to Dewey’s body.

Rodriquez said usually this starts in the head area and the child’s jaw was locked preventing first responders from placing equipment to help him breathe.

Defense attorney Tom Burbank noted there were two adults at the home with the child and Kirsten Louis had noted the child had been having issues and not eating.

Port Arthur Firefighter James Barbay described the same scene inside the duplex-style home as well as seeing Jaylin Lewis packing a bag during this time.

Jaylin Lewis later left the area and was arrested about a month later in Houston.

Barbay said Kirsten Louis repeatedly spoke about her mother and how the child’s death was her fault.

Prosecutor Tommy Coleman called Kayla Taylor of Acadian Ambulance to the stand. Taylor saw the unsuccessful attempts to resuscitate the child and advised firefighters to stop efforts as the “patient was beyond help.”

Rigor mortis, she said, usually sets in about two hours after death and is one of the determinant factors to discontinue restorative efforts.

Port Arthur Police Officer Vao Tran was also at the scene where he described the child lying on his back and the ribcage was very visible. An adult female was also there; the child’s sister, who was hysterical, he said.

Three other children were in the home.

“When I found them, they were dirty. They told me they were hungry,” Tran said.

At some point an EMS employee brought the children some fast food and moved them to another location in the home, according to testimony.

Tran noted the condition of the home — an inflatable mattress with barely any padding for the children to sleep on. There was also a door with a red padlock on it that was pried open by police.

“I recall seeing kids’ toys inside. I recall seeing some sort of makeshift bed that was placed on the ground in the closet and I remember that the sheet was soiled and when we opened the door up it smelled very foul, like the smell of urine or something along that line.”

Port Arthur Police Office Mickey Sterling was also called to the stand by Coleman. Body cam video was shown to the jurors and Sterling can be heard saying, “that baby was starved” and “that’s ridiculous.”

The trial was recessed Tuesday afternoon and will resume at 9 a.m. Wednesday.