Police say the 9-year-old died after blunt force injuries documented in an autopsy.
FORT WORTH, Texas — A Fort Worth man has been charged with capital murder after police said his 9-year-old daughter died from extensive blunt force injuries months after officers found her unresponsive inside a south Fort Worth home.
Marquise Dayshun Anderson, 35, was arrested Tuesday after investigators received the completed autopsy report in the death of Joanna Jordyn Shoulder. Police said the Feb. 8 call began as a medical emergency but became a homicide investigation after doctors and detectives documented bruising and other injuries across the child’s body.
Officers were sent about 3:15 a.m. to a home in the 1900 block of Daniel Street, where they found CPR being performed on Joanna. Paramedics took her to Cook Children’s Medical Center, where she later died. Police said Anderson told investigators he had disciplined the child after she wet the bed and later placed her in a bathtub. He told police he used his hand and a belt, according to an arrest affidavit described by investigators.
The affidavit said Anderson gave officers several explanations for the child’s head injuries, including that she may have hit a faucet or struck her head when he pulled her from the tub. Medical staff documented bruises on her back, thighs, legs and flank. The medical examiner later found at least 30 contusions and said many injuries showed a pattern consistent with a belt.
Investigators said the medical examiner ruled Joanna’s death a homicide caused by blunt force injuries. The report also noted hemorrhaging in soft tissue, injuries to the head and neck and bleeding beneath the scalp and near the spine. The examiner found no natural disease process or toxic substance that contributed to the death, according to the case records described by police.
Anderson is charged with capital murder of a person under 10. He was being held in jail on $750,000 bond. It was not clear whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. If convicted, the charge can carry life in prison without parole or the death penalty under Texas law.
Joanna’s maternal uncle, Brandon Shoulder, said the family waited months for an arrest. “My prayers been answered,” he said. He described Joanna as a third grader who loved unicorns, hugs and school. “She wanted to be an astronaut and a pediatrician and a neurosurgeon at the same time,” Shoulder said.
The case is now moving into court after the autopsy finding and arrest. Police have not announced additional arrests.
Author note: Last updated June 28, 2026.