Texas Parents Charged with Murder a Year After Their 4-Month-Old Baby Was Found Dead in a Motel Dresser Drawer

Two Texas parents have been charged with murder, more than a year after their 4-month-old baby was found dead in a dresser drawer at a motel.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez announced on Saturday, June 21, that the baby’s parents had been taken into custody more than a year after the Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) responded to the death of an infant at a motel on Rancho Mission Drive in Houston in May 2024.

The HCSO has accepted murder charges for both Jeremy Fancher, 38, and Destiny Campos, 22, following the death of their daughter, Brookelynn Fancher, on May 26, 2024, Gonzalez said.

Per the HCSO, the parents were reportedly “living at the location for over a year” when Brookelynn was found unresponsive inside a dresser drawer where she “reportedly slept.”

After a follow-up investigation, Destiny was arrested on Friday, June 20, and booked at Harris County Jail. Jeremy was arrested on Saturday, June 21, and booked at Tom Green County Jail, the HCSO said.

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“I’m glad our team has remained relentless and sought justice for this precious infant,” Gonzalez wrote in a statement, acknowledging the work of the HCSO’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Team, Texas Department of Public Safety, San Angelo Police Department and Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office.

“Thanks to them, we are closer to securing justice for baby Brookelynn,” the sheriff added.

Luann Simon, the baby’s maternal great-grandmother, told NBC affiliate KPRC that she was relieved charges had been filed, alleging that authorities “found methamphetamines in the [hotel] room” with the baby last year.

Simon said police should have arrested the couple sooner following the baby’s death. “They have been living their lives like nothing ever happened,” she told the outlet. “They should’ve been charged with the drugs at the scene and held on those charges until the homicide charges were ready.”

Simon — who said she would “like to see them spend the rest of their lives behind bars” — also alleged that her granddaughter Destiny told her it “wasn’t the first time” the couple put Brookelynn in the dresser drawer, as they’d “shut her in there” when they wanted “alone time.”

It is not immediately clear if Jeremy and Destiny have legal representation to comment on their behalf.

Citing charging documents, KPRC and CBS affiliate KHOU reported that Destiny allegedly told investigators her husband would seal the drawer shut with a towel to prevent the infant from kicking it open. KHOU reported that the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Brookelynn died from suffocation.

Following the infant’s death, per Fox affiliate KRIV, Jeremy claimed he was at the store and came back to find the drawer shut, while Destiny said she was asleep and assumed the baby was with Jeremy. The parents were also living with their 1-year-old son at the time, per the outlet.

A motel housekeeper reportedly took photos of Brookelynn in the drawer and said she alerted management, KPRC reported.

Jeremy’s bond has been set at $850,000, per jail records. Destiny is due in court on Monday, June 23, and her bond has been set at $300,000, according to additional jail records.

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