Left: Alicia Holloman. Right: Avion Traylor (WJBK/YouTube).
A Michigan mother and her boyfriend will spend decades in prison for beating her 7-year-old son to death in what family reportedly described as a “sick, demonic, ritual-like crime.”
Alisha Hollamon, 25, and Avion Traylor, 23, both pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last month in the 2023 death of Deshawn Williams, court records show. Hollamon received between 20 to 40 years behind bars while Traylor was sentenced to between 28 and 60 years in prison, Detroit Fox affiliate WJBK reported.
Detroit police responded just after midnight on Oct. 22, 2023, to a home on the 3700 block of Hurlbut Street for reports of child abuse. Cops found Deshawn suffering from apparent scars and abrasions across his face, back and chest. Paramedics rushed him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
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Prosecutors said during the couple”s arraignment that it appeared the boy “lived a nightmare,” according to the Detroit News. He died of blunt force trauma to the head and pelvis, which was broken in half.
“It looked as though he was dragged across a rough surface,” Assistant Prosecutor Tina Ripley said, per the News. “There are just simply no words to describe how absolutely brutalized Deshawn was. Based on the facts and evidence we have, Deshawn lived a nightmare.”
Cops said it was Traylor who inflicted the abuse on the boy, and Hollamon who stood around and did nothing. The couple was originally charged with felony murder, first-degree child abuse and torture. As part of the plea deal, the state dropped the latter two charges.
During the sentencing, Deshawn’s aunt Krystal Hollamon — Alisha’s sister — directed her ire at Traylor, according to a courtroom report by WJBK. She described her nephew’s death as a “sick, demonic, ritual-like crime” and called Traylor evil, that his mom “gave birth to a demon.”
Wayne County Third Circuit Court Judge Paul Cusick said the case was among the worst he’s ever witnessed in his nearly three decades as judge and criminal defense lawyer. He said he viewed videos where Deshawn was “crying for his life.”
