HOUSTON – The man charged in the beating death of his girlfriend’s daughter, 4-year-old Emma Thompson, is no longer in the Harris County Jail.
Lucas Ruric Coe, a 27-year-old convicted felon with multiple priors was released on $100,000 bond on Friday morning.
Emma died on June 27 shortly after arrival at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital. Because Emma’s death occurred in Montgomery County, an autopsy was performed at the Southeast Texas Forensic Center in Conroe. Dr. Patricia Moore listed the cause of death as “blunt force abdominal trauma,” causing internal bleeding which was consistent with a homicide.
Coe lived with Young and Emma in Spring, in Harris County, which is where the case will be prosecuted. Child Protective Services investigated Emma’s living situation three weeks prior to her death after she tested positive for oral and vaginal genital herpes. Emma was not removed from the home.
Coe and Abigail Young, Emma’s mother, were arrested on Aug. 10 charged with first-degree felony injury to a child. Young was released a day later on $50,000 bond.
Earlier this week, Coe’s bond was reduced to $100,000 at the request of his attorney.
