CLEVELAND — A grand jury has indicted a Cleveland woman for the alleged murder of her 3-year-old son earlier this month.
Timmeka Eggleton, 30, has been charged with one count of aggravated murder and two counts of murder, along with one count each of felonious assault and endangering children. The allegations stem from an incident back on June 14, when Eggleton's young child was found unconscious while sitting in a stroller at the Family Dollar on Euclid Avenue near East 79th Street.
The boy was later pronounced dead at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. He has since been identified as Curtis Lee James Witcher, and according to prosecutors, the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner ruled his death to be a homicide resulting from blunt-force trauma.
Authorities allege Eggleton lied about the events leading up to Curtis' death. She was arrested back on June 19, and court records show she is currently being held in the Cuyahoga County Jail on a $1 million bond.
"It is not very often in your career where you have two separate cases in one week charging a parent for murdering their child," Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O'Malley said in a statement, referencing another matter where a 1-year-old Cleveland girl died after her mother allegedly left her alone for 10 days. "My heart breaks for everyone that loved this boy. As a parent, it is horrific to think that a mother would kill her three-year-old son."
Eggleton's next court date has not yet been determined. Despite her being charged with aggravated murder, the indictment indicates prosecutors have elected not to pursue the death penalty, meaning the maximum sentence she could receive with a conviction would be life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Funeral services for Curtis Lee James Witcher will take place this Saturday at 10 a.m. at House of Peace Funeral Home on East 71st Street. The family has asked those attending to please wear face masks.
