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A Fort Worth man was booked this week on a capital murder charge after prosecutors say his 9-year-old daughter died of severe blunt-force injuries in February. The arrest follows a June 16 ruling by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office that the child’s death was a homicide.
Police allege that 35-year-old Marquise Anderson inflicted the injuries that killed his daughter, identified in court records as Joanna Shoulder. Authorities first responded to the family’s home in the early hours of Feb. 8, when a woman inside the house was performing CPR on the child as emergency crews arrived.
What investigators say happened
According to an affidavit obtained by local media, officers found Joanna unconscious on the floor and covered with bruises. She was rushed to a hospital where she later died. Detectives focused on Anderson after learning the child had multiple recent injuries.
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People with knowledge of the response told police that the day before she died Joanna had been disciplined with a belt. In interviews, investigators report Anderson gave several accounts of the events leading up to his daughter’s collapse: he said the child had wet the bed twice, that he left her in a bathtub for an extended period to clean her, and later claimed she became ill, vomited and struck her head after a fall. He also allegedly admitted to striking her with a belt that included a metal buckle.
Autopsy and charges
The medical examiner’s report describes extensive trauma: widespread hemorrhaging in soft tissues, numerous bruises across her back, thighs and lower body, and multiple blunt-force wounds to the head and neck. Examiners also documented bleeding beneath the scalp and around the cervical and thoracic spinal canal.
With the examiner’s homicide determination on record, prosecutors charged Anderson this week with capital murder for the killing of a child under 10. He is being held without bond at the Tarrant County Jail; a court date has not been announced.
- Feb. 8, early morning: Emergency crews find Joanna unresponsive at home; she is transported to hospital and later dies.
- Day prior: A witness told police Joanna was disciplined with a belt the day before her death.
- Autopsy: Multiple blunt-force injuries, extensive bruising and internal bleeding; manner of death ruled homicide on June 16.
- Current status: Marquise Anderson arrested and charged with capital murder; detained without bond.
Under Texas law, a capital murder charge can expose a defendant to the most severe penalties available, including the possibility of a death sentence. The case now moves into the criminal justice process, where prosecutors will present evidence and a court will determine how the matter proceeds.
Authorities have not released further details about prior child welfare contact or whether additional persons are under investigation. Police and prosecutors declined to comment beyond the charges and medical examiner’s findings; court filings and further hearings are expected to provide more information.
