A Hatfield Township man will spend the rest of his life in prison, after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in connection with the 2016 death of his former girlfriend’s 4-year-old daughter, Kailee Bunrout.
Marquis Thomas, 35, was found guilty on Thursday following a 10-hour deliberation by the jury, according to a report by KYW News Radio. Thomas was charged in June 2019 with first-and-third-degree murder, endangering the welfare of children, strangulation, aggravated assault, simple assault, unlawful restraint of a minor and criminal attempt-murder in the first degree, in connection with an investigation that began in late 2016.
According to the KYW report, prosecutors said Thomas almost got away with the killing, as the medical examiner who performed the initial autopsy found the cause and manner of death as inconclusive, adding Bunrout’s internal injuries were likely due to CPR. However, after Thomas was arrested in February 2019 for repeatedly beating his girlfriend’s son — Bunrout’s brother — investigators reexamined the case and autopsy, which ultimately lead to murder charges being filed against Thomas in June 2019.
Proceedings in Thomas’ case, like many others in Montgomery County and across the state, were delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the court system.
Timeline of the Investigation
According to the criminal complaint, Towamencin Township Police were dispatched to Forge Gate Apartments—located along the 1100-block of Snyder Road—at 7:51 a.m. on Oct. 18, 2016, for a report of an unresponsive child. Upon arrival, police observed a male—identified as Thomas—performing CPR on a 4-year-old girl, the report states.
Police continued to employ life-saving measures, but the girl was unresponsive and had no pulse. She was transported from the scene via ambulance, and pronounced dead at the hospital at 8:33 a.m.
Later that day, investigators spoke with the victim’s mother, who stated that she lived in the apartment with the victim, her 6-year-old son, her boyfriend—identified as Thomas—and their 6-month-old daughter. The mother informed police that the victim was playing and laughing prior to being put to bed between 8:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. the prior evening, and that the victim was in bed when the mother awoke to go to work at 3:50 a.m. on the morning of the incident, the report states.
The complaint states that around 8 a.m., the mother received a text from Thomas stating that the victim would not wake up. She immediately called Thomas, who stated that he was going to call 9-1-1, the report states. The mother then left work and returned to the apartment several minutes later.
The report states that when the mother returned home, Thomas had not yet called 9-1-1. The mother unsuccessfully tried to wake her daughter, but noted that she was cold and had “red saliva” on her shirt and bed, the report states.
Detectives showed the mother images of the victim’s torso, which showed bruising, but the mother said the bruising was not there where she bathed her daughter the night prior, according to the report.
Investigators then spoke with Thomas, who said that when he tried to wake the victim on the morning of the incident, she was cold to the touch, according to the report. Thomas also told investigators that he noticed the bruising to the victim’s chest the night prior, when she was getting ready for bed, the report states.
An investigation into the victim’s medical history showed that six weeks prior to her death, she was evaluated by a child abuse specialist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. That evaluation showed subconjunctival hemorrhages in both eyes, a bruise below her left eye, bite marks on her tongue, two healing rib fractures and multiple scars on her torso.
An autopsy of the victim was performed on Oct. 19, 2016, which identified multiple injuries including contusions, abrasions, scars, a blackened right eye, soft tissue damage to the neck, lacerations of the heart and liver, pulmonary contusions, hemorrhages of the stomach and urinary bladder and more. Following the autopsy, the manner of death was ruled “undetermined,” according to the report.
No charges were filed at the time.
Then, in September 2018, a joint investigation between the Hatfield Township Police Department and the Montgomery County Detectives was launched, regarding the suspected physical abuse of his girlfriend’s then-8-year-old son, who was admitted to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) with orbital trauma on Sept. 15. The report states that one of the victim’s doctors noted that the injuries to the child’s face were consistent with inflicted trauma/child abuse, and expressed a high level of concern for the child’s safety.
On Feb. 8, 2019, the victim’s mother took her son to the Hatfield Township Police Station after he confessed that Thomas had “hurt him" on multiple occasions prior to his hospitalization in September 2018. The victim was further interviewed the next day, where he disclosed that his “dad”—identified as Thomas—made him indefinitely do push-ups, standing squats, or stand on his head until told to stop. The victim also stated that Thomas would choke him, causing him to scream in pain.
As a result, Thomas was arrested on Feb. 9, 2019, and charged with three felony counts of aggravated assault, three felony counts of strangulation – applying pressure to throat or neck, three felony counts of strangulation – blocking the nose and mouth, three felony counts of unlawful restraint of a minor and three felony counts of endangering the welfare of a child, in connection with the incident in September 2018.
Further interview of the son uncovered that on the night prior to his sister’s death in October 2016, he saw Thomas take her crying into the bathroom, according to the report.
On June 19, 2019, Doctor Samuel P. Gulino reviewed the girl’s autopsy, as well as the medical records of her 8-year-old brother, and opined that she had died as a result of blunt impact trauma and strangulation, and ruled the manner of death a homicide.
See also:
Charges Held Against Hatfield Man Accused of Killing Child
Hatfield Man Accused of Killing Girlfriend’s 4-Year-Old Daughter, Faces First Degree Murder Charges
Hatfield Man Charged With Repeatedly Beating Girlfriend’s Son [UPDATED]
Former Lacrosse Instructor Accused of Sending, Requesting Nude Photos from Juveniles Gets Probation
Montco Chiropractor Pleads Guilty to Credit Card Fraud, Sentenced to Probation
