Background: Trevor Qu'Shaun Davis appears in Smith County court in Tyler, Texas (KLTV/YouTube). Inset: Charles Henry Bell (Gentry Temple COGIC).
A defendant in Texas will spend the rest of his life behind bars after he told authorities he beat and kicked an 81-year-old man "hard, like soccer" before the man died.
Trevor Qu'Shaun Davis, 24, was originally charged with first-degree murder in the death of Charles Henry Bell.
He has since pleaded guilty to injury to an elderly person with intent to cause serious bodily injuries in connection with the incident, regional ABC affiliate KLTV reported. He was sentenced to life in prison.
On Nov. 3, 2024, Davis was walking along Gentry Parkway in Tyler, Texas, with a woman he was dating. Tyler is located in the eastern part of the state, about 100 miles southeast of Dallas.
He and the woman were arguing, and he was pushing her, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by local CBS affiliate KYTX. Bell, who was also walking with a friend, is said to have seen this and attempted to intervene.
"Stop yelling at [her] and leave [her] alone," the woman quoted the older man as saying, per KLTV.
Davis apparently took issue with the intervention. He began attacking Bell by punching him "repeatedly in the face and head," the affidavit stated. He also kicked the older man in the head, later telling officers he did so "hard, like soccer."
Davis maintained that it was Bell who struck him first, hitting him with his cane and slapping him.
With Bell on the ground bleeding, Davis and the woman ran away and hid in a nearby Valvoline shop. Police officers caught up with them there and arrested Davis.
Bell is said to have had injuries to his face and a hemorrhage. He was brought to an area hospital, and when he died about a week later, Davis was charged with murder.