A Fort Worth father is facing a capital murder charge after his 9-year-old daughter died in February following what investigators say was severe physical discipline that turned fatal.
The girl was found unresponsive inside a Fort Worth home in the early morning hours of Feb. 8 and later died at a hospital. Detectives shifted from a medical call to a homicide investigation after hospital findings and an arrest affidavit described extensive physical injuries, according to investigators.
On June 24, Fort Worth police arrested 35-year-old Marquise Anderson and charged him with capital murder in connection with the child's death, according to FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth. Officers had been called to a residence in the 1900 block of Daniel Street around 3:15 a.m. on Feb. 8, where bystanders were performing CPR on the unconscious girl when they arrived. She was taken to a local hospital and later pronounced dead. Investigators say the case moved forward after an arrest affidavit and follow-up interviews pointed them to a suspect.
According to the arrest paperwork, officers learned that medical staff observed “extensive bruising” across the child's body when she arrived at the hospital, raising immediate red flags for abuse. The affidavit alleges Anderson told investigators he struck his daughter multiple times with a belt on her legs and back after she wet the bed and then smirked, and that she regularly spent weekends with him and his girlfriend. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office later ruled her death a homicide caused by blunt-force injuries, and police say the girl's biological mother told them the child had no significant medical problems before she died, according to FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth.
What a Capital Murder Charge Means in Texas
Capital murder is Texas' most serious homicide charge, and cases involving young children can qualify under state law. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice notes that capital murder includes the killing of an individual under the age of 10 and can carry either the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to the TDCJ. If prosecutors decide to pursue the death penalty, the case would follow capital-case procedures that involve additional pretrial steps and a separate sentencing phase after any conviction.
Local Context
This case comes as Fort Worth continues to wrestle with an uptick in deadly violence. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that the city saw an 8 percent increase in homicides in 2025, according to the Star-Telegram. Local officials have said the reasons behind those killings vary, but domestic incidents and arguments made up a substantial share of last year's cases. Child homicides, in particular, tend to rattle neighborhoods and families, and advocates say they highlight the need for more prevention and support resources.
How to Help Investigators
Police are asking anyone with information about this case to contact the Fort Worth Police Department's homicide unit or use the department's non-emergency tip lines. The Fort Worth Police Department lists media contacts, non-emergency phone numbers and online tip options on its newsroom page, according to the Fort Worth Police Department. Authorities are also urging anyone who may have phone video or photos from that night to keep them and share them with detectives, saying even small details could help piece together what happened.
