Nearly a year after a tragic discovery in a west Harris County hotel room, two Texas parents have been charged with murder in connection with the death of their four-month-old daughter. The child was found unresponsive inside a drawer at a Days Inn motel, and authorities have now upgraded the charges against her parents, Destiny Campos and Jeremy Fancher, from injury to a child to murder.
The incident occurred on May 26, 2024, when emergency responders were called to Room 111 of the Days Inn off Rancho Mission Drive in the Mission Bend area. The infant was pulled from a drawer and placed on the bed while paramedics attempted resuscitation, but she was pronounced dead at 1:11 p.m.
Campos and Fancher, who were living in the hotel with the baby and her 18-month-old brother, have both maintained their innocence in prior interviews. Campos was booked into the Harris County Jail on Friday night. Fancher, arrested by San Angelo police, is being held without bond at the Tom Green County Jail, per Fox affiliate KRIV.
Authorities also arrested Fancher’s current girlfriend, Marilyn Jennifer Mork, on charges of hindering apprehension. She is also in custody in Tom Green County. Court documents paint a disturbing picture of prolonged neglect. Campos allegedly told investigators that Fancher would place the baby in a drawer to silence her crying, sometimes using towels to keep the drawer shut and to muffle the sound.
On the day of the baby’s death, Campos said she had asked Fancher to watch the children while she slept. Hours later, she woke up to find both him and the baby missing. When Fancher returned, Campos claimed he asked, “Did you check on her? Did you hear her?” They then opened the drawer and found the baby unresponsive.
Fancher admitted to placing the baby in the drawer with a hospital blanket before leaving for the store. When he returned, he found the drawer shut and the child not breathing. A hotel housekeeper reported having previously found the baby crying in the drawer while Campos was passed out and could not be woken.
Despite her urging management to contact Child Protective Services, no action was taken. She recalled seeing towels or blankets stuffed around the drawer, and Campos allegedly laughed off the situation, saying, “It was okay.” Campos’ grandmother, Luann Simon, told detectives that Campos admitted to frequently using the drawer to conceal the baby when she and Fancher wanted “alone time.”
Simon also alleged Fancher would lock the baby’s belongings in his car to control Campos. Disturbingly, Campos, now pregnant again, reportedly told her grandmother, “I’m gonna have a girl. That replaces the one I lost.” The Harris County Medical Examiner determined the cause of death as homicide by suffocation. As the legal process unfolds, Campos, Fancher, and Mork remain in custody.