Investigators: Reports Show Boy Purposely Starved To Death

Toxicology Reports Say Boy Had No Pre-Existing Condition

SCOTT COUNTY, Miss. -- Investigators said on Friday that they're building a very strong case in the starvation death of a 4-year-old Scott County boy.

A test that came back from the county coroner on Friday showed that 4-year-old Austin Watkins had no poison or drugs in his system and no indication that he was sick.

Another report found the boy had almost nothing in his stomach when he died.

Investigators said it further bolsters their case that the boy was purposely starved to death. He weighed 19 pounds at the time of his death, which is the equivalent weight of a 1-year-old child.

His grandmother, Janice Mowdy, and aunt, Stephanie Bell, are charged with his death.

The coroner said he's learning more about how the boy died.

"There was so little in the stomach and digestive system that you can't tell what, if anything, the boy might have eaten," Scott County coroner Joe Bradford said.

More callers to the 16 WAPT Feedback Line said other family members should be held accountable.

"Everyone is accountable -- the state, county, grandparents -- those that saw him, mom, aunt," an unidentified caller said. "If they came in contact and didn't make sure he had food, they should be held accountable."

"I can't understand why nobody around there noticed something," said Linda from Brandon. "Where was he? Someone should have noticed. What happens when people turn their back can cost lives."

Investigators checked into the boy's previous trips to area hospitals and said there is no indication those visits had anything to do with weight loss.

Investigators said the coroner's results contradict statements from the grandmother and the aunt.

They told investigators the child had been sick for a while, which they said is why he lost so much weight.

However, as part of the investigation, the pathologist spoke to doctors at University Medical Center. The doctors reviewed medical records and determined that Austin had been taken to the hospital more than a year ago.

"But there was nothing in those records that had to do with weight loss," Bradford said.

Mowdy and Bell are being held without bond. Their case goes to a Grand Jury in January, and their charges could be upgraded to capital murder, which would give prosecutors the option of seeking a death penalty.

Watkins died on Nov. 9 -- six days shy of his fifth birthday.