A three-year-old girl died Wednesday after allegedly being beaten by her father three days earlier. Her father, twenty-two-year-old Billy Ray Joiner, was arrested on Monday for alleged “injury to a child, aggravated assault in retaliation, and evading arrest after a previous conviction,” according to Fox 4 News.
Police were called to the Joiner home in west Fort Worth in the 2600 block of Merrick Street on Sunday, November 28, after reports of injury to a child. The child, Elena Rae Joiner, was taken to Cook Children’s Medical Center with severe injuries.
According to a GoFundMe account set up by the girl’s family, Elena was declared brain-dead on Monday and died Wednesday due to being “brutally injured by her father.”
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that, according to Elena’s aunt, Miranda Malone, the child suffered a heart attack at the hospital that caused her to go into cardiac arrest.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office has not yet confirmed Elena’s cause of death, as an autopsy is pending.
Criminal records show that Billy Ray Joiner “was arrested in May of 2020 for allegedly assaulting and choking a family member,” Fox 4 reported.
Child Protective Services will be working with law enforcement officers regarding this case. The agency confirmed that CPS had interactions with Elena’s family in the past but did not disclose any more details about its history with the Joiner’s.
Four other children living at the Joiner home have been placed in the care of CPS.
Malone spoke of her niece Elena and expressed, “Our hearts are shattered, she didn’t deserve this. We want justice for her.”
The family’s GoFundMe page was closed after reportedly receiving enough money to cover Elena’s funeral costs.
