AUSTIN, Texas — A Pflugerville ISD kindergarten teacher has been charged with a felony after allegedly fracturing two of a student's fingers earlier this month.
PfISD said the teacher was immediately placed on leave during the investigation and is now no longer employed by the district.
"Our most greatest fear was realized the day that that happened," Donte Moore, the child's father, said.
Donte Moore and his wife, Tabathe, said on Sept. 4, their 5-year-old son, who has autism, came home from Pflugerville Elementary School in pain.
"'She broke my hand, she bent my hand back,'" Moore said his son, Noah, told him.
When he asked who did that to him, his son responded, "Mrs. Merrell," referring to his teacher, 31-year-old McKinize Merrell.
Moore said the school didn't notify them about any incidents that day. That night, the family took Noah to St. David's North Austin Medical Center, where an X-ray confirmed a fractured pinky and ring finger on his right hand.
According to an affidavit, PfISD police were called to Pflugerville Elementary on Sept. 5. Officers met with the Moore, his wife and the school's principals. Moore told police about his son's odd behavior after returning from school the day prior and gave police a video he had taken of his son telling him that Merrell had broken his fingers.
Investigators visited Moore's residence to take pictures of the incident, where Noah told an investigator with the Department of Family and Protective Services that Merrell had broken his fingers.
"You abused our child in the very place that he should have felt safe," Moore said.
PfISD detectives reviewed surveillance footage from the school day on Sept. 4. One video, at 9:44 a.m., showed Noah in the hallway and, at one point, voluntarily flopping down on the floor, putting weight on his hands. That led detectives to believe he was not injured at that point. In the video, he walked toward the class and brushed his right hand along the bench, which again led detectives to believe he was not injured at that point.
In another video, at approximately 10:20 a.m., Merrell and Noah left the classroom as Merrill was holding his right hand. Shortly thereafter, Merrell stopped him a few steps away from exiting the outside doors. His head and body stretched up and Merrell's left hand moved above Noah's head before she bent down to the right side of his body.
Merrell's left arm then moved over his shoulders while he stepped away from her. Merrell moved him forward while she was still bent over with her left arm around his shoulders. He was then moved closer to Merrell by the arm that she had wrapped around him.
Noah again took quick steps back while he was still bent forward. The top of his head raised and he stood up while Merrell was bent over facing him. She then led Noah outside by his right hand. The entire interaction lasted just less than a minute and a half.
Another video showed Merrell leading Noah outside, still holding his right hand, stopping again and then speaking to him, appearing to be upset. Merrell released him as he then solemnly walked along a fence. Merrell was then seen going to a bench and speaking with another teacher.
Noah walked up to where Merrell was standing beside the other teacher. Merrell was then seen speaking to him in the presence of the teacher, before walking away. Noah then spoke to the teacher for a few minutes before another teacher arrived and sat down on the bench.
Another video of a class coming in directly from recess at approximately 10:40 a.m. showed Noah calmly walking towards the café, at one point looking at his right hand. He went to fist bump a student walking up, but pulled his fist back and instead elbow-bumped the student, which led detectives to believe that the injury happened prior to that point.
Detectives interviewed the two teachers who had sat on the bench, who told them that Merrell claimed Noah had hit and kicked her in the shins, which led her to scold him. Nothing in any of the videos investigators reviewed indicated that Noah hit or kicked Merrell.
One of the teachers told detectives there was "no way" Noah could've hurt himself while playing. The other teacher said that he told her that Merrell had broken his fingers, but she didn't know him so couldn't answer any questions about him. Detectives later followed up with the assistant principal, who said there had been no documented incidents of Noah misbehaving.
Detectives interviewed Noah again at the Center for Child Protection. He once again said that Merrell had broken his fingers.
PfISD human resource directors shared emails with police, transcribing an interview they had with Merrell. During the interview, Merrell stated that she held Noah's shoulder and right hand as he tried to pull away but did so gently, in an effort not to hurt him. She also didn't recall Noah saying he was hurt.
Moore later told detectives that the doctor who diagnosed the fractures told him that only some sort of force could've caused a break at the level of his son's.
Merrell was charged with injury to a child with a disability causing serious bodily injury, a first-degree felony.
The district confirmed Merrell joined in 2023 and is not a certified teacher. They said she is a Teacher Facilitator, which is someone working toward earning their certification.
"There was definitely a miscarriage in the handle of my child," Moore said.
The Moores have put their son into a different school since the incident, but they said he is to scared to return.
"He doesn't want to be in his own, his own bed now and that hurts because that fear was ... it was realized and now we are having to unpack that with our son," Donte Moore said.
The incident has been reported to the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
According to court documents, Merrell bonded out of jail Wednesday morning.
The following letter was sent out to Pflugerville ISD parents.
"Dear Pflugerville ES Parents/Guardians,
I wanted to take a moment to inform you about a situation that occurred this past week on our campus. We were informed by a fellow parent that there was an unfortunate incident where a student was injured during the school day, allegedly by a teacher.
As soon as we were informed of this, we contacted our PfISD police and administration, and the teacher was immediately placed on leave while we conducted a thorough investigation. I want to reassure you that the teacher is no longer employed by the district. Campus staff has contacted all parents of students in the classroom individually.
We understand the gravity of these situations, and the safety of our students has always been our top priority.
Please know that we will always contact you immediately if we have a situation that directly impacts your student. We remain dedicated to the safety and well-being of our students and will continue to take every measure possible to ensure a safe learning environment."