DFPS report details years of abuse allegations involving family of slain Kendrick Lee

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Four months ago, a horrific scene was discovered at a west Houston apartment. Investigators found 8-year-old Kendrick Lee's body decaying in one of the rooms and his siblings living in the apartment, abandoned by their mother.

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services recently released a report on the death of the young boy, showing Kendrick and his siblings had been involved with state protective services for years.

The first report of abuse dates back to April 2015 when DFPS said their investigation found Brian Coulter, who is charged with Kendrick's murder, was physically abusive. The reports say Coulter spanked an ex-girlfriend's 7-year-old child, leaving excessive bruises on the boy for weeks.

"As I looked through this report, an incident and I thought, 'Probably there is going to be three previous incidents because they wouldn't have let it go beyond three,' and then you keep going and it's 13. I think to myself, quite alarming," said Bob Sanborn, the president and CEO of Children at Risk.

Sanborn said though some of the investigations were closed with the situation deemed "safe," this pattern should not have been allowed to continue.

"To me, it's sort of that same old story of an overburdened safety net on the part of the state. There aren't enough staff members to sort of put all of this together. There's not enough thinking going on because they are too busy...It's just very obvious that this young man fell through the crack and lived in this hell for too long for any child," said Sanborn.

Throughout the 12-page report, some of the allegations were not confirmed, still, Sanborn says, this report shows these children were failed.

"We will point the fingers at these parents. This boyfriend, who is clearly abusive and belongs in jail, but there are many people that were part of this. Thirteen instances, that's outrageous," said Sanborn.

SEE ALSO:

9-year-old has been dead inside SW Houston apartment for a year, 3 other kids were abandoned: HCSO

Houston mother accused in abandonment case also lived with son's remains

Man accused of leaving boy's body with siblings is indicted on capital murder and abuse charges

Timeline: What we know so far about murder of 8-year-old Kendrick Lee

For more news updates, follow Courtney Carpenter on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.