Father’s charge upgraded to capital murder in death of baby

ODESSA, Texas (KOSA) -According to Odessa Police Kameron Gammage’s charge has now been upgraded to capital murder.

The affidavit has been released in the case of the death of a 7-month-old baby Tuesday afternoon.

Kameron Gammage and Leyla Pierson were arrested Tuesday for injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual and criminal negligence.

In the document, officials state that when police were called to Brady Station Apts dispatch advised that a baby inside the apartment was unresponsive and not breathing. Kameron Gammage had made the call.

Police say the infant had heavy bruising and swelling to the left side of his face and head. There were also multiple smaller bruises along the top of the head.

Officers said the inside of the apartment was dirty with apparent dog feces on the floor and other items throughout the inside. Both Gammage and Pierson admitted to attempting to clean some of the mess prior to law enforcement arriving.

The father, Gammage, claimed the bruising was from the infant hitting his head on a hard portion of the interior of the crib. The mother, Pierson reported she frantically went to Kameron and woke him up to notify him about the infant when she woke up to find him not breathing, but Gammage seemed uncaring, according to the affidavit.

Pierson reported Gammage asked what he should do, and she told him to call 911. Pierson reported Gammage became apologetic toward her and told her he hoped she wasn’t mad at him.

Pierson also reported Gammage has extreme anger issues and has recently killed several dogs by strangulation and tried to get rid of their bodies as to not get in trouble, which he later admits to in police interviews. This is according to the affidavit

Gammage told police has been dealing with a lot of stress lately, including the infant frequently crying.

Both Pierson and Gammage admitted to smoking marijuana on Saturday, July 9. Gammage told police that around 10 p.m. Pierson had laid down for a nap.

Gammage reported their baby started crying, in the bedroom, so he went to try and play with the infant and began tossing the infant in the air and then catching him. He also told police he was frustrated, and the infant would not stop crying.

Gammage claimed he “accidentally” dropped the baby after about the fourth toss, which caused the infant to land on his left side. He then told police the infant hit the floor “hard” when he landed.

According to Gammage, the bruising and swelling on the baby’s face and head began after that, but he didn’t want to tell Pierson for fear of getting in trouble. He said the baby began acting unusual over the next couple of days, and when he saw the infant dead Tuesday morning, his initial thought was something like he killed his kid.

Pierson told police she woke up and checked on the infant, she saw the bruising on the infant’s face and asked Gammage about it. She reported Gammage told her the baby probably hit his head on a hard part of the crib.

She told police they did not seek medical attention for the bruising. Pierson also told police the baby became more “fussy” over the next couple of days, but she thought it was because he was teething.

You can read the full affidavit here.

The Andrews Police Department tells CBS7 that they opened an investigation for an offense of sexual assault of a child where Gammage was the suspect.

The case was presented to an Andrews County Grand Jury and Gammage was indicted on May 19, 2022, for the offense of sexual assault of a child. A warrant for Gammage’s arrest was issued.

Gammage was arrested on these charges on Tuesday in addition to the charges in the case of the 7-month-old child. Investigation revealed the initial offense occurred between 2019 and 2020. The victim was 15 at time of the original offense.

Online jail records indicate Gammage’s bond was set at $350,000 and Pierson’s was set at $5,000

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