Fort Worth Father Charged With Capital Murder in Death of His 9-Year-Old Daughter

A Child's Death, Months in the Making

A Fort Worth man is facing a capital murder charge after police say he beat his 9-year-old daughter to death with a belt after she wet the bed. The case, which shook the North Texas community, took months to move from a late-night 911 call to a formal murder charge — a timeline shaped by the grim work of forensic investigators and medical examiners.

Fort Worth police announced on June 25 that 35-year-old Marquise Dayshun Anderson was arrested on June 24, about a week after the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office ruled that his daughter's death was a homicide caused by extensive blunt force injuries throughout her body. According to Fort Worth Police, on February 8, officers were sent to a residence on the 1900 block of Daniel Street at about 3:15 a.m. and arrived to find CPR being given to a 9-year-old girl lying on the floor. The child was taken to the hospital by paramedics, where she later died.

What Investigators Found

Police said the attending physician told investigators that the girl, identified as Joanna Jordyn Shoulder, appeared to have extensive bruising all over her body. The injuries told a story that directly contradicted the explanations her father offered to detectives.

According to the affidavit, police said Anderson gave them several explanations for injuries to his daughter's head, including that she hit her head on the faucet when she fell and that she struck both sides of her head when he pulled her from the tub. Anderson also told police that he checked on her periodically while in the bath and that she appeared "sleepy, thirsty, hot and slurring her speech." He said when he went to get her some water, he returned to find her hanging over the edge of the tub and vomiting. He said she became unresponsive, and that about 10 minutes later, they called 911.

Police said records from Cook Children's Medical Center showed Joanna arrived at the hospital in cardiac arrest and doctors "documented multiple bruises on Joanna's back, thighs, lower extremities, and flank." Medical personnel documented patterned injuries, including semi-circular bruising and a linear bruise on the thigh. Investigators said the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy said the injuries were consistent with the areas Anderson admitted striking and that a belt pattern was visible.

A Father's Admission and a Mother's Account

According to an affidavit, Anderson said he hit Joanna with a blue cloth belt with a metal buckle 6 to 7 times because she smirked at him and he didn't think the previous discipline had been effective. The beating, police allege, followed an incident in which the child had wet the bed.

Joanna's biological mother was also interviewed, and she told police her daughter had no significant medical problems and was developing normally and capable of bathing on her own. Her account helped investigators establish that the injuries could not be explained by an accidental fall or a pre-existing condition.

What Anderson Now Faces

Anderson has been charged with capital murder of a person under the age of 10 and is being held in the Fort Worth Jail. A bond amount has not yet been set, and it's unclear if he has obtained an attorney to speak on his behalf.

If convicted of capital murder, Anderson faces either life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. Under Texas law, capital murder of a child under 10 is among the most serious charges a person can face, reflecting the state's particularly severe stance on crimes against its youngest victims. As the case moves toward prosecution, Joanna Jordyn Shoulder's name will remain at the center of it — a reminder that behind every charge is a child whose life was cut short before it had barely begun.