Couple charged with child's death could be prosecuted together

(From KJAS)

Jasper County Criminal District Attorney Steve Hollis will be seeking to prosecute Leo and Crystal Desormeaux together for the December 2007 death of infant child Tristin Dobbins. Meanwhile, the trial has been tentatively set to begin on Monday, February 23.

Hollis filed the motion, known as a joinder, to try the couple together and a hearing on that matter is expected to take place next week before District Judge Jerome Owens. The Desormeauxs will be in the courtroom during that hearing.

Leo and Crystal Desormeaux are under grand jury indictment and charged with capital murder after it was reported in December 2007 that Leo's biological child, Tristin Dobbins, was deceased. The Jasper County Sheriff's Department said later that the Desormeaux's placed the deceased child into his bed and did not call 911 until the next day. Authorities allege that the two killed the toddler and then tried to cover up the death at their Evadale home.

The indictment states that the death of Tristin occurred as the result of "...choking him, shaking him and striking his head with or against an object, the exact nature of which is unknown...".

Leo Desormeaux was arrested shortly after the death occurred at the couple's home near Evadale. Crystal Desormeaux was arrested some two months later when sheriff's deputies said that new information had been obtained in the case. Crystal was arrested and charged with tampering with evidence.  Those charges were later escalated to capital murder.