Mother and Boyfriend Indicted for Capital Murder in Death of 3-Year-Old Dawson Zamora
A Collin County grand jury has indicted a former Amarillo woman and her boyfriend on capital murder charges in connection with the death of her 3-year-old son, a case that investigators say involved weeks of alleged abuse before the child was rushed to a hospital with catastrophic injuries.
The indictment of Chelsea Rene Berg comes months after her young son, Dawson Zamora, was found unresponsive in October and transported to Medical City McKinney. The case has drawn widespread attention as disturbing details from court records and arrest affidavits reveal what investigators believe happened in the weeks leading up to the child’s death.
Child Rushed to Hospital
Authorities say Dawson was brought to the emergency room on Oct. 14 after becoming unresponsive at the apartment where Berg lived with her boyfriend, Christopher Thomas Alexander.
According to investigators, Alexander transported the child to Medical City McKinney and initially told hospital staff that he had heard a “thud” in another room before finding the toddler unresponsive.
Medical personnel quickly became concerned.
Doctors reported that the child arrived with severe trauma that appeared inconsistent with a simple fall. Medical staff alerted police after observing injuries that raised red flags for possible abuse.
Investigators later determined that Dawson had suffered severe brain trauma and multiple injuries throughout his body.
The child remained hospitalized for nearly two months before ultimately dying from his injuries in December.
Grand Jury Indictment
A Collin County grand jury has now indicted Berg on one count of capital murder of a person under 10 years old and one count of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury.
Alexander, who was arrested earlier in the investigation, faces the same charges.
Under Texas law, capital murder charges can apply when a child younger than 10 is intentionally killed.
Authorities allege Berg knowingly left her son in the care of Alexander despite evidence that he had previously hurt the child.
Troubling Text Messages
Investigators say phone records recovered during the investigation revealed text messages between Berg and Alexander discussing injuries Dawson had suffered weeks before the hospitalization.
Those messages, included in the arrest affidavit, appear to show that Berg was aware of repeated injuries.
In one text message dated Sept. 9, Berg allegedly confronted Alexander about bruises on the child’s face.
“He clearly hit his head when he fell… he has a bruise on his eyebrow and his whole jawline/cheek is bruised,” she wrote in the message.
She continued in the same message, accusing Alexander of causing the injuries.
“You’re reckless. He has progressively been getting more and more hurt with you… I’m not blind. You’re DANGEROUS.”
Just days later, another message suggested the injuries were continuing.
“100000% serious,” Berg wrote in a Sept. 18 message. “You bruise him, hurt him, and cause damage every single time you are alone with him. There hasn’t been a single time you’ve been alone with him where he hasn’t been hurt.”
Investigators say the messages show the child had been suffering injuries for weeks before the medical emergency that sent him to the hospital.
Statements at the Hospital
Witnesses at the hospital later told police they overheard Alexander on the phone with Berg shortly after arriving at the emergency room.
According to those witness statements included in court documents, Alexander allegedly admitted during the call that he had tried to wake the child by striking him.
One witness reported hearing Alexander say he “had to get rough with the child and strike the child in the stomach while trying to wake him up.”
Shortly afterward, police say Alexander requested an attorney and declined to speak further with investigators.
Investigation Raises Questions
Investigators say the child’s injuries were extensive and included trauma that could not be explained by the story Alexander initially provided.
Court records also indicate authorities found evidence suggesting the child had suffered injuries over time rather than from a single incident.
Prosecutors allege Berg knew about prior abuse but continued leaving Dawson in Alexander’s care.
Those allegations form part of the basis for the capital murder charge against her.
A Father’s Heartbreak
As the investigation unfolded, Dawson’s biological father publicly shared his grief over the loss of his son.
In a social media post announcing the child’s death, he revealed that Dawson died on Dec. 7 — the same day as his own birthday.
“His gift to me was his final breath and we are now forever interlocked with my birth and his death,” he wrote.
He also said he believed his son had held on until that day.
“[He] held on to spend one last birthday with me and refused to go until then.”
The grieving father said the details expected to emerge in the case would likely “break my heart all over again.”
Case Moving Forward
With the grand jury indictment now filed, the case will move forward in Collin County court.
Both Berg and Alexander remain charged with capital murder of a child under 10 and injury to a child causing serious bodily injury.
If convicted, they could face the most severe penalties available under Texas law.
For many following the case, the focus now turns to justice for Dawson Zamora — a child whose short life ended in a tragedy investigators say could have been prevented.
