Texas dad forced 12-year-old son to write chilling message before torturing him to death

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT: Derrick Coles has been sentenced to 45 years in prison after his 12-year-old son died following a horrific punishment ritual at his San Antonio home

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A Texas dad who forced his 12-year-old son to endure torturous punishments until he was brain-dead will spend decades behind bars for the boy's death.

Derrick Coles' son, Danilo, endured horrific abuse leading up to his death in 2022. Coles would force him to do strenuous physical exercises, including spending hours holding 50-pound boxes and doing push-ups, as a form of punishment. The 35-year-old father also scalded Danilo with boiling water, ruthlessly beat him and left him with "whipping marks" all over his body.

Coles was found guilty in August of multiple felony charges, including four counts of first-degree injury to a child resulting in serious bodily injury. His then-wife, Kapri Cheatom, has also been charged with injury to a child resulting in serious bodily injury.

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Police were called to the couple's San Antonio home on February 6, 2022, after receiving a report of an injured child. At the scene, paramedics discovered Danilo, weighing only 50 pounds, unresponsive on the floor.

Emergency responders attempted to resuscitate Danilo and transported him to University Hospital on Medical Drive. Doctors said the 12-year-old had "no brain activity" shortly after he arrived at the facility and he was declared dead later that night.

Coles told police that his son had fallen in the shower, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by KENS. But medics who treated the boy told investigators that he had sustained "several suspicious injuries," KSAT reported.

He had "severe injuries to his buttocks where the skin was hanging off of the buttocks, internal stomach bleeding, and 'whipping marks' on his torso and legs," WTFX reports. His cause of death was determined to be toxicity due to over-exercising.

After being taken in for questioning, Coles allegedly admitted to physically abusing Danilo in the lead up to his death. The father said his son had recently moved in with him after being raised by his mother in Chicago, where he had also allegedly endured abuse.

Child Protective Services removed Danilo from his mother, according to an affidavit. Coles said that Danilo started acting "disrespectful" and had "caused problems" for him and Cheatom. He began delivering out cruel punishments.

On the day of Danilo's death, Cheatom told detectives that the 12-year-old woke up at around 11am and cursed at her, WOAI reported. The boy was reportedly ordered to hold up a pair of boxes filled with water bottles weighing about 50 pounds.

When he was unable to hold the boxes, he was given a smaller set and when he could no longer hold them, he was forced to do pushups. The punishment allegedly went on for four or five hours.

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Danilo then took a shower, which is where the couple said he fell and cut his eye. He was allegedly made to do more pushups and when he was unable to do any more, Coles beat the boy with a belt while he was on the floor "in a fetal position," WTFX reports.

Coles allegedly admitted that he "busted" Danilo's lip a few hours before his death. As well as the physical punishments, Danilo was reportedly ordered to write the message, "I will obey all people that live in the household," repeatedly in a notebook.

An emergency doctor testified during Coles' trial that the father told him that he made Danilo do five hours of "military-style" push-ups right before he collapsed. The Bexar County medical examiner found that he had suffered rhabdomyolysis - a condition in which the muscle tissues break down and releases harmful substances into the bloodstream, causing the organs to shut down.

The emergency doctor said the condition is only fatal under extreme conditions. He said he believed the exercise had gone on "the entire day."

Coles has been sentenced to 45 years in prison. “I want to sincerely thank everyone who made today’s sentencing possible and for their unwavering commitment in securing justice for Danilo,” Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said. “Protecting children will always be of utmost importance to us, and we will continue to fight on their behalf.”

Cheatom is currently awaiting trial. Her next court appearance is scheduled for October 31 for a motion hearing and her trial is expected to go ahead next year.