{"id":18796,"date":"2025-12-16T10:39:22","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T16:39:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/2025\/12\/16\/mckinney-mother-facing-murder-charge-after-child-hospitalized-on-suspected-abuse-dies\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T10:39:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T16:39:22","slug":"mckinney-mother-facing-murder-charge-after-child-hospitalized-on-suspected-abuse-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/2025\/12\/16\/mckinney-mother-facing-murder-charge-after-child-hospitalized-on-suspected-abuse-dies\/","title":{"rendered":"McKinney mother facing murder charge after child hospitalized on suspected abuse dies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tragic Death of a 3-Year-Old Boy in McKinney, Texas<\/h1>\n

A 3-year-old McKinney boy who was brought to a hospital in October, unresponsive with injuries to his brain and body, has died, officials and family said.<\/p>\n

Dawson Zamora was brought to Medical City McKinney on Oct. 14, unresponsive with injuries that included bleeding in the brain, bruising in various stages of healing and trauma to other areas of his body, according to court records and officials.<\/p>\n

The 3-year-old died this week, according to a Facebook post from the child\u2019s father and a statement to The Dallas Morning News from his mother\u2019s attorney.<\/p>\n

Arrests and Charges<\/h2>\n

On Monday, the boy\u2019s mother, Chelsea Berg, 31, was rearrested and is now facing a charge of capital murder of a person under 10 years old. She was initially facing an injury to a child charge and was out after posting bail, according to Collin County jail records.<\/p>\n

As of Tuesday, Berg\u2019s 30-year-old boyfriend, Christopher Alexander, who is accused of being left alone with the child during the suspected abuse, also faces a capital murder charge as well as a tampering with or fabricating evidence charge, according to Collin County jail records.<\/p>\n

Investigation and Evidence<\/h3>\n

The child\u2019s injuries, evidence found by police and text messages exchanged before the 3-year-old\u2019s hospitalization suggest that the child\u2019s mother suspected abuse but still left her son alone with Alexander, according to court records.<\/p>\n

On Oct. 14, Berg said in an interview with police that she left her son, Dawson, with Alexander about 7:20 a.m. while she went to work, according to court records.<\/p>\n

Shortly after receiving a text from Alexander about Dawson eating lunch, she said her boyfriend called her \u201cpanicked\u201c and said he was taking the 3-year-old to the hospital.<\/p>\n

When Berg arrived at the hospital, Alexander told her he had been in another room when he heard a \u201cthud\u201d and found the child injured, court records said.<\/p>\n

Police said in the affidavit that they were notified by hospital staff that the child\u2019s injuries were inconsistent with Alexander\u2019s story and, according to Berg, the boy did not have the injuries before she left him in Alexander\u2019s care.<\/p>\n

Text Messages and Warning Signs<\/h4>\n

Investigators obtained text messages between Alexander and Berg where she questioned him and accused him of harming her child.<\/p>\n

The first texts included in the affidavit are from Sept. 8, more than a month before Dawson was severely injured.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has a bruise on his eyebrow and his whole jawline\/cheek is bruised,\u201d Berg said in a text. \u201cYou\u2019re reckless. He had progressively been getting more and more hurt with you!!! Leave me alone!!! I\u2019m not blind. You\u2019re DANGEROUS.\u201d<\/p>\n

In another string of text messages on Sept. 18, Berg stated that Alexander was a threat to her son, according to her affidavit.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou bruise him, hurt him, and cause damage every single time you are alone with him,\u201d the text said. \u201cThere hasn\u2019t been a single time you\u2019ve been alone with him where he hasn\u2019t been hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Current Status and Next Steps<\/h5>\n

As of Dec. 9, Alexander and Berg are being held in the Collin County jail.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear if Alexander has an attorney.<\/p>\n

Berg\u2019s bail conditions initially barred her from seeing her son, according to a statement from her attorney to The News.<\/p>\n

As Dawson\u2019s medical condition declined, an emergency motion to modify her bail conditions was granted by a judge, allowing Berg to see her son, according to the attorney\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n

Berg was able to say goodbye to him when he passed and was charged with capital murder less than 24 hours after his death, her attorney said.<\/p>\n

Killings of Rob, Michele Reiner stun Hollywood as decision on charges for their son looms<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

Rob Reiner was long one of the most prolific directors in Hollywood, and his work included some of the most memorable and endlessly watchable movies of the 1980s and \u201990s, including \u201cThis is Spinal Tap\u201d and \u201cA Few Good Men.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nLewisville cop facing sexual assault of a child charge resigns amid internal investigation<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

The former officer was arrested Friday in Rockwall County after he was accused of engaging in a public sex act with a teen, police said.<\/p>\n


\nLavon police detain middle schooler accused of killing 24-year-old after altercation<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

Police said the juvenile shot and killed the 24-year-old man at a home in Lavon on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h6>\n

The tragic death of 3-year-old Dawson Zamora has left a community in shock and raised questions about the circumstances surrounding his death. As the investigation continues, it is essential to remember the importance of protecting vulnerable children and holding those responsible for their care accountable.<\/p>\n

FAQs<\/h6>\n

Q: What were the circumstances surrounding Dawson Zamora’s death?<\/p>\n

Tragic Death of a 3-Year-Old Boy in McKinney, Texas A 3-year-old McKinney boy who was brought to a hospital in October, unresponsive with injuries to his brain and body, has died, officials and family said. Dawson Zamora was brought to Medical City McKinney on Oct. 14, unresponsive with injuries that included bleeding in the brain, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":18798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-18796","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-crime-reports"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/B6P4CBGWJJFBHFN7JYNO6PYMT4.jpg?auth=a283a5857e4d076eb8fee99e0b5d0203af8d24c73c38c2914867de4d6a1252e6&quality=80&width=1200&height=630&focal=198,403","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18796"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18796"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18799,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18796\/revisions\/18799"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}