Mother demands answers after son dies from severe injuries in Louisville backyard incident

Police say cause of death remains undetermined as family calls for transparency.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A mother is speaking out following her son's death after he was found unconscious in a backyard in the Pleasure Ridge Park neighborhood nearly three weeks ago.

Louisville Metro Police is investigating Carlos Wilson Jr.'s death as a homicide.

Wilson's mother, Tina Rowlings and family said they want answers.

Rawlings said she has not received any updates from the LMPD lead detective on the case.

"How can I trust the lead detective if he doesn't feel it's important to contact me," Rawlings said.

Louisville Metro Councilwoman Tammy Hawkins echoes the family's plea during a news conference held at Metro Hall Saturday night. Hawkins called out the lead detective on the case, saying that it's unacceptable for him not to have reached out to the family.

"I don't think that's too much to ask for," Hawkins said. "It's about full transparency, full communication and the core values of what government is supposed to be about."

LMPD said on March 23, someone called police and said a man was jumping fences in the area and walking through their backyard.

When police got there, Wilson was found unconscious in the backyard of a home on Gerald Avenue. He was taken to Mary and Elizabeth Hospital with visible injuries.

There, Rawlings said medical staff told her that her son suffered from blunt force trauma to his head, his ribs were broken and there was a large bite mark on his chest.

Wilson died five days later. LMPD said they are still waiting for the autopsy report.

Rawlings said she believes her son was beaten to death.

"There was a lot of defensive wounds," she said. "I feel tortured. I didn't ask to be a grieving mom, but I should be able to. But right now, I'm not allowed to do that. Right now, I have to talk and speak for my son because others aren't doing what they're supposed to do regarding his life."

She said she and her son live in the area, and it wasn't out of his norm to walk through yards in the neighborhood.

"They've been doing it for 14 years. People do it in my backyard. I didn't used to like it either, but we just learned that that's just what they do in that area because it's a maze. To get anywhere it's just a maze," Rawlings said.

Friday, loved ones went to Gerald Avenue to confront neighbors in the area where Wilson was found.

Kentucky is a stand your ground state, meaning you can use reasonable force to defend yourself if you are somewhere you have the legal right to be. The law also allows you to legally defend yourself at home.

For these statutes to apply, you cannot be the initial aggressor, you have to have reason to believe you're in danger, and the force must be proportionate to the threat.

LMPD released this statement Saturday night:

LMPD Homicide detectives have interviewed all involved parties and are currently awaiting autopsy results from the Jefferson County Medical Examiner to determine the cause of Mr. Wilson’s death. At this time, the cause of death remains undetermined.

We are aware of statements and videos involving individuals connected to this incident that are circulating on social media. We urge the public to allow investigators the time and space to conduct a thorough and objective investigation based on all available evidence.

We have briefed the Commonwealth Attorney and will continue to coordinate closely with their office as the investigation progresses.

We are committed to keeping Mr. Wilson’s family informed and will provide updates to both the family and the public as soon as new, verified information becomes available.