Justin Hurd had to suffer through the death of her son after her best friend, Makallie Durham, tortured him and his sister for days in September 2022. After calling the police, with authorities ready to bring her to jail, Durham texted Hurd, asking for help. Hurd, of course, refused. Now Durham will spend the rest of her life in jail.
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Hurd's son, two-year-old Kristian Harris, died on September 15, 2022, days after he was tortured by 25-year-old Durham, according to the Daily Mail. Two days before his death, on September 13, Aclorn County deputy sheriffs arrived at Durham's boyfriend's home after he called 911. Then, a nervous and desperate Durham texted Hurd, asking for help. However, Justin Hurd wasn't having any of it.
"And I said, 'Your a** should go [to jail]! Because why my babies got bruises all over them? You better hope they take you before I get there,'" Hurd told the outlet.
Both Kristian Harris, two at the time, and his younger sister, 11-month-old K'Helani, spent days in Durham's care. An indictment obtained by the Daily Journal revealed that Durham was accused of hitting Kristian "in the face or head" on three separate days. The indictment also accused Durham of hitting K'Helani on three straight days.
Arrested And Sentenced
After Durham's boyfriend called the police, authorities found an unresponsive Kristian Harris with multiple injuries. K'Helani also displayed several injuries on her body.
Police informed Justin and her mother, Christina Hurd, that Kristian was rushed to a local hospital. Once they arrived, only Justin was allowed to see her son. She, however, immediately knew something had gone terribly wrong.
"So, they were trying to keep me calm, calm enough to get to my kid, and then they would tell me the full details," Hurd said. "So, when I got to my son [at the hospital], it was like 12:02 when I walked into that room. And I just started praying because I knew my baby was dead."
Hurd also found her daughter with "bruises all over her face, all over her abdomen and chest." Kristian fought for his life for two days. However, he succumbed to his injuries on September 15, 2022. Once he passed, police arrested and charged Durham with capital murder.
For Justin Hurd, however, the idea of her best friend Makallie hurting her children was inconceivable. "My kids called her TiTi. That was her aunt from another mother, literally," Hurd said. "Like, you couldn't pay me at the time to believe she was just capable of thinking or doing anything of that nature."
In December 2024, Durham pleaded guilty to capital murder and four counts of felonious child abuse, according to News Nation Now. She was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for capital murder and to 40 additional years for the child abuse charges.
Days after Kristian's burial, Justin Hurd found out she was pregnant. Hurd said that K'Helani remembers her late older brother and that he was "such a loving kid towards her."
