Mother And Her Boyfriend Sentenced In Beating Death Of 2-Year-Old Gabriel Eason​

WASHINGTON, DC — Antonio Turner, 29, and Ta’Jeanna Eason, 32, were sentenced in federal court on Friday after pleading guilty on multiple charges for the blunt force trauma death of 2-year-old Gabriel Eason in 2020.

Gabriel was found deceased by Metropolitan Police Department officers around 8:25 a.m., on April 1, 2020, in the 900 block of Division Avenue Northeast, for the report of an unconscious person. The officers noticed that one of Eason's other two sons, who was 3 years old, was drifting in and out of consciousness and had a bump on the center of his forehead, according to police.

The 3-year-old and Eason's other son were taken to Children's National Medical Center for evaluation. While both of their bodies showed evidence of trauma, the 3-year-old had bruises behind his ears and scalp, fractured ribs and a lacerated liver, according to authorities.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner performed an autopsy of Gabriel the next day, finding cuts and bruises to the head, face and torso. The 2-year-old boy also had multiple rib fractures and healing fractured ribs, among other injuries, including to the heart and brain, according to authorities.

The cause of the child's death was determined to be multiple blunt force injuries.

On Jan. 27, Turner pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and Eason, who was Gabriel's mother, pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree cruelty to children and an additional count of first-degree cruelty to children for injuries to her then 3-year-old son.

The charges against Eason stemmed from not seeking medical help for Gabriel or his 3-year-old brother, as well as hitting her third child.

Judge Milton C. Lee Jr. sentenced Turner to 12 years and 8 months in prison, 11 of those years were for his role in Gabriel's death. Lee sentenced Eason to four years of probation and three years of supervised release, according to court documents.

Turner and Eason were arrested on Nov. 3, 2020 and later released pending their appearance in court to face the charges stemming from Gabriel's death.

At the time of their arrest, the couple were involved in a romantic relationship and Turner was not the biological father of Eason's three children.

Police arrested Turner on Nov. 29, 2021, after he caused a woman's car to crash in the 1800 block of New York Avenue, Northeast, according to court documents. Following the crash, Turner dragged the driver from the car and punched her several times in the face, which caused her to lose consciousness, according to police. He was then arrested and has been held in custody ever since.