In early 2023, paramedics found 6-year-old Titus Davenport in his father’s bedroom, covered in bruises. The Salem child was dead.

His stepmother told police that Titus, who had autism, had thrown a fit earlier that day and repeatedly slammed his head.

But a medical examiner found that Titus couldn’t have caused the brain bleed that killed him on Jan. 13, 2023, according to a sentencing memorandum by Brendan Murphy, Marion County’s chief deputy district attorney.

Cierra Wiedner, 27, pleaded guilty on Monday in Marion County Circuit Court to criminally negligent homicide in the death of her stepson.

Marion County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Wren sentenced Wiedner to five years in prison.

During the court hearing, an emotional Wiedner apologized. She said she shouldn’t have watched Titus without first getting training in caring for children with special needs.

But photos of Titus’ body made it clear that his fatal injuries were not self-inflicted, the judge said. “They show a 6-year-old body that was abused.”

He said 6-year-olds “don’t have bruising behind their ears. They don’t have multiple marks on their face and head. The body will shut down before it can hurt itself too much. That’s just physics.”

Shortly before Titus’ death, Wiedner texted her partner – Titus’ biological father, who was at work – to complain about the boy’s behavior, according to Murphy’s court filing.

“He busted his head open again,” she wrote

In another text, Wiedner said she had to pull Titus out of school. 

In the texts, she used a slur against people with developmental disabilities to describe Titus’ behavior, adding that he was hitting and biting her.

“I’ve changed my clothes three times and I’m still drenched in blood,” she wrote.

Investigators did find evidence that Titus had a history of “bashing his head,” though his teachers reported that he never tried to hurt himself at school, according to Murphy’s filing. 

Police also learned that Titus, a first-grader, hadn’t been to school for nine days before his death.

Titus’ injuries suggested that he had been abused before the day he died, Murphy said in his filing. 

“The victim wasn’t merely injured – he was tortured,” the prosecutor wrote.

Under Oregon law, someone is guilty of criminal negligence when they fail to discern a “substantial and unjustifiable risk” in a way that “constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care.”

At the sentencing hearing, Murphy acknowledged that Wiedner had supporters in the courtroom.

“I think this court needs to know, and I think they need to hear, that this case is not about failing to get appropriate medical care,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for almost 20 years. This is – if not the worst – one of the worst child abuse cases that I’ve seen.”

Titus’ biological mother tearfully said at the hearing that the loss of her son left a void in her soul that will never heal.

She said another son regularly asks for his brother to come home.

“Every time he does, I am forced to tell him the heavy truth that Titus is dead and he won’t ever come home to us. I have to look into his little face full of tears and confusion and feel his heart break,” she said.

“Titus was robbed of his life. He won’t get to have his first day of high school. He won’t get to learn to drive. He won’t get to be in a school play or play sports. He will forever be six years old,” she said.

Four people spoke at the hearing on behalf of Wiedner – Titus’ paternal grandparents, his paternal great-grandmother and his father. 

They described Wiedner as a loving, patient caregiver. Some said they doubted that she ever abused children.

Titus’ father, Robby Davenport, said at the hearing that his son’s death was “a travesty” but wasn’t Wiedner’s fault. “I have never seen any form of ill will or ill intent towards either of my boys or any other person by Cierra,” he said.

Wiedner told the judge that  she was devastated by the loss of Titus and the pain she caused.

“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about him. Titus was someone I cared for and loved very deeply,” she said. “I understand that accountability includes facing the consequences, and I am prepared to do that.”

Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.

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