Former Lone Star College employee accused of murdering his 6-month-old baby by shaking and hitting him with a 'blunt object' in 2023

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — A former Lone Star College employee is accused of murdering his six-month-old son last year.

Emmit Eugene Carter, who worked as an assistant dean of students at the college, is behind bars on $300,000 bail.

Carter was arraigned on Friday and made his first court appearance on Monday, where his bail was reduced from $600,000.

According to court documents, Carter shook and struck his child, Maverick, with a blunt object on July 8, 2023, resulting in the baby's death nearly four days later at Texas Children's Hospital.

The child's autopsy revealed that it was a homicide.

On Saturday, Lone Star College told ABC13 that Carter was still employed there. However, on Monday, the college announced that he no longer worked there.

“We allege that the child suffered blunt force trauma, whether from a blunt object, a blunt instrument or even violent acceleration/deceleration forces,” said Assistant District Attorney Edward Appelbaum after Monday's court hearing.

Appelbaum said the reason for filing the murder charge more than a year after the baby's death was to wait for the child's autopsy to be completed and to review all the details before moving forward with confidence.

“It appears that (Carter) was the sole caregiver (of the child) at the time,” Appelbaum said, adding that the baby's mother was out of town and he was the only one with the child.

ABC13 also heard from Carter's defense attorney, Will Vaughn, who denied the allegations against him.

Vaughn explained that Carter was married to Maverick's mother at the time of the incident and they lived in the same house. She reportedly left on a trip 24 hours before the baby was taken to the hospital.

The defense claimed they found nothing in the medical reports to indicate that Maverick's injuries occurred while he was alone in his father's care.

“What happened here is not a crime. It's a terrible tragedy, and there's a lot of mystery, but it was not a crime,” Vaughn said. “The fact that an innocent man like Dr. Carter has to sit here in handcuffs and answer for something he didn't do, instead of grieving the death of his child, is heartbreaking.”

Carter also has a nine-year-old son, of whom he has custody, although his mother is not Mavericks. Vaughn said they all have a great relationship and described Carter as someone with a “clean past” and an “honorable member of society.”

Carter, 38, has worked in education for nearly two decades and faces up to 99 years in prison if convicted.

His next court date is October 16.

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