Grandmother testifies about finding boy’s body

JAMAICA BEACH — Using a doll the size of a toddler, a woman showed jurors Tuesday how she found her grandson’s body stuffed in a hope chest, but she continued to blame her ex-husband in the 4-year-old’s slaying.

Despite pleading guilty to murdering Kraig Jenkins and admitting it was her idea to stuff the child into the box, Barbara Bawarsky, 48, said she never intended to harm her grandson.

Bawarsky continued Tuesday to blame her ex-husband, Daniel James Gray, 56, who she testified against during the second day of testimony in his capital murder trial.

Gray’s defense team reminded jurors of Bawarsky’s multiple, false statements to investigators, saying she agreed to a plea deal and to testify for a chance at parole in 16 years.

Bawarsky carried jurors though the final moments leading to her grandson’s Dec. 22, 2005, death in the Jamaica Beach apartment she used to cook methamphetamine.

Boy Interrupted Sex Act

Before Kraig died, Bawarsky embarked on a methamphetamine binge, injecting the toxic cocktail of chemicals twice and snorting it a dozen times or more, she testified.

Kraig awoke the night of Dec. 21, interrupting the couple’s sexual encounter, Bawarsky testified. “I heard him call out, ‘Nana,’” Bawarsky testified.

County Criminal District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk asked Bawarsky why she didn’t check on her grandson instead of allowing Gray to do it.
“I stayed in the kitchen, continuing to cook meatloaf and other things I did that night, the eggs, and to prep for the meth cook,” Bawarsky said.

Bawarsky’s testimony included lurid descriptions of disciplinary sessions in which she and Gray restrained Kraig with bed sheets, put socks in his mouth and tried to calm the boy with cold showers and blindfolded timeouts. Some of the measures were captured on videotape and photographs.

Gray’s defense attorney, Tom Stickler, told Bawarsky that Kraig died from having a sock shoved in his mouth.

“I didn’t suffocate my grandson,” Bawarsky said.

One of the crime scene photos showed an inflatable exercise ball on which the couple had sex. The ball was just outside Kraig’s bedroom, Bawarsky testified.

“Were the sexual relations in the hallway?” Sistrunk asked.

“Part started by the couch and it rolled into the hallway,” Bawarsky said.

Jury Sees Hope Chest

Sistrunk rolled the hope chest before the jury. The box appeared to measure 4-by-2 feet and to be about 2 feet high. The box was divided in the center, making two compartments.

It was Bawarsky’s idea to place Kraig in the box to keep him safe while the couple had sex, she testified.

Sistrunk asked Bawarsky to describe how she found Kraig.

“I saw him wrapped from his head and there was a mesh bag that covered his head,” Bawarsky said.

Straps also were found encircling the sheets, used to bound the boy’s body, Bawarsky said.

Boy’s Face Was ‘Pale’

Bawarsky removed the sheet, she testified.

“I saw Kraig’s face,” Bawarsky said. “It was really pale. There were bruises on his face. I could see the way that his mouth was. His eyes, they were pretty lifeless.”

At some point the couple performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Bawarsky said. Blood came from Kraig’s mouth when she turned his head to the side, she said. She later tried to clean the bloody carpet.

Splashing Away Blood

The couple took the child into the bathroom, where Bawarsky said she propped her grandson’s motionless body on the side of the tub so Gray could splash away the blood.

As Gray cleaned Kraig’s body, Bawarsky washed the sheets used to bind him, she testified.

Sistrunk showed the jury in Judge Wayne J. Mallia’s 405th District Court in Galveston photos of Kraig’s bruised face and another of the boy lying with his back on a rug in the living room.

Lies To Police

Stickler spent most of Tuesday questioning Bawarsky about inconsistencies in her statements to authorities, pointing out the number of times she lied to police.

When asked after Tuesday’s adjournment whether he’d kept record of the number of Bawarsky’s inconsistent statements, Stickler said, “I don’t have that much paper.”

Bawarsky, however, said her statements on the stand were the truth.
“Why plead guilty to something you didn’t do?” Stickler asked Bawarsky.

“Because I was the responsible party,” Bawarsky said. “I was told it was in my best interest to take the plea.”

‘I’d Probably Convict Myself’

Bawarsky, who was charged with capital murder, accepted a 40-year sentence on a lesser charge of murder rather than risk an automatic life sentence.

“My attorney gave me several different options of what could happen if I was to proceed,” Bawarsky said. “Me, knowing a child was at stake and a child died, if I was a juror person, I’d probably convict myself, because the child was in my care.”

Kraig was removed from his parents’ custody on grounds of abandonment. He was placed with Bawarsky, his maternal grandmother.

A state Child Protective Services worker testified Monday she saw no signs of drug abuse in the home or indications of physical abuse against Kraig.

Gray’s defense team claims their client is innocent, saying he was sleeping in another room when Kraig died.

Testimony was expected to continue today with Stickler questioning Bawarsky. The state intends to call first responders to the crime scene when Bawarsky steps down.

If convicted, Gray faces an automatic life sentence without the possibility of parole.