IN LOVING MEMORY OF 5 YEAR OLD GEONTAE GLASS (APRIL 19, 2001 TO DECEMBER 5, 2006)

            Let us not forget 5-year-old Geontae Glass on April 19 and December 5, every year.

  

Geontae Glass

(April 19, 2001 to December 5, 2006)

[PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.angelizdsplace.com/child140.htm]

Geontae Glass could have survived his injuries, according to a Pathologist, if he had received the necessary medical attention he needed. Dr. Emily Ward said that there were so many wounds on the body, that she had not been able to count them. Dr. Ward said that Geontae was mostly likely beaten several times times over the few days before his death and that he would have been paralyzed, though he could have survived.

Kevin Andre Towles is accused of killing Geontae by beating him with a board. With wounds that had already scabbed over on his legs, arms and face and some of the wounds appeared to be from a belt. Some of the tissue on his bottom was exposed and the damage had extended deep into some of Geontae's muscles. Hemorrhaging on his spinal cord would mean he would have been paralyzed. The weapon was believed to be a board and when police checked, they found a piece of wood, which appeared to be part of a two by four and appearing to have blood on it, at the home. Forensic Scientist, Debbi Dodd, did DNA testing on the blood and it was found to be Geontae's.

At first, Kevin told police that he had been the one to hurt Geontae, however, when police told him that they could not guarantee that Shalinda would not be charged, he changed his story and said that two masked men had come out of the woods and asked him to bring Geontae to them. Kevin claimed the men asked him for money and that he had given them $15,000. Geontae's ten year old sister said that Kevin had been upset with him and that he took him outside. When Kevin come back into the house with Geontae, he was not moving.

Shalinda Glass was dating Kevin Towles, who was 34 at that time and the couple was accused of staging a kidnapping to cover up what Kevin did to Geontae. Geontae's body was found in the trunk of their car the day after they reported him missing. In the home, Police found 1/8 of an ounce of Cocaine, about $33,000. in cash, and AK-47 and a 30 round clip of ammunition.

Police were speculating that since Kevin had a police record with 26 arrests on it, that it was a possibility that Shalinda had allowed him to and possibly even helped him kill Geontae because of abuse she may have been going through herself:

"This is a kind of a situation that does sometimes does occur where people are too vulnerable
and they don't have someone to support them in raising their child and they pick someone
that may not be the optimal person to help them. Abuse is a cycle, probably not a cycle the
way most people would expect it to be, but it is a cycle in the sense that often abuse leaves
a person with the sense of sort of disturbed self image and not very good self esteem.
Damaging parents to the point of making poor choices, sometimes fatal ones. 
They usually can break through that cycle if they get the proper help.""
Connie Carnes - Expert In Child Abuse

It doesn't matter to me WHAT that man was doing, allowing him to hurt her son is inexcusable in every way. We are given children as as gift from God, a loan, we are His, we do not have the right to take them from this world or to allow anyone else to take them. PROTECT YOUR AND OTHER CHILDREN AT ALL COSTS! If YOU are suffering abuse, think about how a child will suffer even more because they are so innocent and they trust us to take care of them and protect them from any and all danger.

In November of 2000 Shalinda Glass was indicted by an Etowah Country Grand Jury. The charges were two counts of capital murder. Due to the facts coming out at the trial of Kevin, District Attorney Jimmie Harp felt that Shalinda should also face charges of murder in the course of aggravated child abuse:

"I think that the fact sand circumstances that surrounded this case after the investigation and
the trial of Towles' case warranted the juries consideration in the (the mother's) case of a
felony murder count. It became apparent to us that if the jury wanted to seek another
 charge, felony murder should be available. The grand jury felt the same way and added the
count of felony murder to her already indicted capital case"

In December of 2009, Circuit Judge Allen Millican, sentenced Kevin Andre Towles to die for what he did to Geontae. Kevin had been found guilty in October and the recommendation from the jury was that he be put to death. Shalinda Glass was charged with capital murder, a charge she plead not guilty to.

Jimmie Harp said that they still planned to prosecute Shalinda using the capital murder charge and they would seek the death penalty against her. Shalinda was being held without bail.

Geontae Glass' Funeral Services
Posted: 12:30 PM Dec 11, 2006

Five year old beating victim Geontae Glass will be buried Monday in Centre Ala. The boys mother reported him missing a week ago, triggering a nationwide Amber Alert. She said he was sleeping inside her car when it was taken from an Albertville convince store.

The boys body was found inside the car the next days.

Police believe the mothers boyfriend -- 31 year old Kevin Towles -- beat him to death and staged the abduction to cover up the crime.

Towles is charged with capital murder. The mother, 25 year old Shalinda Glass, of Rainbow City, is charged with hindering prosecution.