A Magnolia man charged last year in the brutal beating death of his girlfriend’s preschool age daughter in Harris County is now in the Montgomery County Jail in Conroe where he faces charges of injuring another child.
On Tuesday, a Montgomery County Grand Jury reindicted 28-year-old Lucas Ruric Coe, of Magnolia on a Jan. 13, 2005 charge of first-degree felony Serious Bodily Injury to a Child, which is now paired with his indictment Sept. 27, 2007 for third-degree felony Bodily Injury to a Child. The victim in the Montgomery County case is a 7-year-old boy.
Assistant District Attorney Sylvia Yarbrough will prosecute Coe on the two charges and said she sought the reindictment so she could try Coe on both counts at once. The case will be heard in the 221st District Court of Judge Suzanne Stovall.
Coe made headlines last Aug. 10 when he and girlfriend, 33-year-old Abigail Elizabeth Young, were arrested for first-degree felony Serious Bodily Injury to a Child in the June 27 death of 4-year-old Emma Thompson.
Coe was not Thompson’s father, but shared a residence in Spring with Emma and her mother, Young, a registered nurse who worked in labor and delivery.
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Emma died on June 27 shortly after arrival at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital. According to the probable cause report, the autopsy stated Emma had 80 contusions, severe head lacerations, hemorrhaging of the scalp, skull fracture, internal bleeding and had a severe tear and hemorrhaging to the vagina…” It also stated her hymen was not intact.
The autopsy listed the cause of death as “blunt force abdominal trauma,” causing internal bleeding which was consistent with a homicide.
She was diagnosed with herpes two weeks prior to her death, with an outbreak of blisters on her hands, mouth and vagina, but Child Protective Services did not remove her from the home. They later stated the disease can be contracted by non-sexual means. Investigators were unaware that Lucas Coe lived with the mother and child.
Emma’s injuries case will be prosecuted in Harris County where the abuse occurred, and not in Montgomery County, where she died.
The charges in Montgomery County are older and not connected to Emma Thompson’s case except by the suspect.
Coe’s criminal record is extensive and since Emma’s death, many have questioned why he was free and had access to the child.
Police records show Coe was arrested:
* Apr. 20, 2001: Driving While Intoxicated (misdemeanor) – Sentenced Feb. 22, 2002 to 30 days in jail, fine, and court costs.
* Dec. 21, 2002: Aggravated Assault Causes Serious Bodily Injury (second-degree felony) – Sentenced March 18, 2003 to 6 years probation.
* Nov. 21, 2003: Failure to Stop and Give Information- dismissed on Jan. 20, 2004.
* March 13, 2004: Criminal Mischief (misdemeanor) – Sentenced Sept. 21, 2004 to fine and court costs.
* January 13, 2005: Indicted in Montgomery County for Serious Bodily Injury to a Child (first-degree felony) – awaiting trial.
* May 21, 2005: Driving While Intoxicated 2nd – Sentenced May 16, 2006 to 1 year in jail (suspended) 1 year of probation to begin immediately.
Records show a motion to revoke probation based on non-compliance was filed on March 21, 2007. The motion was withdrawn Sept. 21, 2007.
* Sept. 27, 2007: charged in Montgomery County with Bodily Injury to a Child (third-degree felony) – awaiting trial.
* Feb. 28, 2008: arraigned on the Sept. 27, 2007 charge.
On June 27, 2009, Emma Thompson died from a brutal beating with evidence of sexual assault and previous physical abuse according to the autopsy.
* Aug. 10, 2009: first-degree felony Serious Bodily Injury to a Child (Emma Thompson)
* Jan. 12, 2010: reindicted in Montgomery County for Serious Bodily Injury to a Child.
After a hearing on the Emma Thompson case reduced Coe’s bond to $100,000, he was released from the Harris County Jail. He was arrested and booked into the Montgomery County Jail on January 6, booked on a bench warrant, a warrant for injury to a child, and a warrant for failure to appear from the court of Pct. 3 Justice of the Peace Edie Connelly.
As of this writing, no bond amounts have been posted on the jail roster.
