A Texas man, 26-year-old Deontray Flanagan, was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison after a horrific incident in which he strangled his 2-year-old daughter, Zevaya Marie Flanagan, during a police chase. Flanagan reportedly spoke on FaceTime with the boy’s mother and grandfather as the tragic event unfolded.
The ordeal began on March 20, 2023, when Flanagan confronted Kairsten Watson, Zevaya’s mother, at the Houston Walmart where she worked. Flanagan, angry and accusing Watson of infidelity, demanded her phone passwords and other personal information, threatening to kill her daughter if she did not comply.
Watson obeyed but attempted to rescue Zevaya. Unable to take her daughter from Flanagan, she was hit in the face before Flanagan fled with the girl and took Watson’s phone along with her own, according to KRIV.
Police quickly located Flanagan by tracking one of the phones, beginning a 45-minute, 30-mile chase. Flanagan drove recklessly, traveling the wrong way on the roads and colliding with other vehicles. Authorities later stopped his red Camaro and found Zevaya loose in the vehicle, now deceased.
According to investigators, Flanagan strangled Zevaya while FaceTiming with Watson, showing her her daughter’s lifeless body. During the call, Watson pleaded, “Please stop, that’s our daughter,” as video evidence later shown in court revealed.
In heartbreaking testimony, Watson recounted the call, saying: “His face was covered in blood. He hit her with something really hard and then called me on FaceTime and showed it to me. He strangled her on FaceTime. I told him, ‘Tray, stop, that’s your daughter, stop, she loves you.'”
Curtis Watson, Zevaya’s grandfather, also received a FaceTime call. He said: “I was hoping for a peaceful ending. But then he showed me the lifeless corpse of my granddaughter. “I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”
After the chase ended, Flanagan confronted a SWAT team for 20 minutes before being taken into custody. Zevaya was rushed to a hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival.
During the trial, Flanagan caused further disturbance by attacking a hou reporterwhich led the court agents to immobilize him. Despite the tragedy, Zevaya’s memory lives on. “You may have taken his last breath,” Curtis Watson said, “but you can’t kill his spirit, his memory or his name.”