Mother, son charged after chasing teen into pool, watching him drown

MEMPHIS, TN (WMC) - A mother and son were charged after being accused of chasing a teenager into a swimming pool and watching him drown.

Anneckarena Beason and her 18-year-old son Reginald Beason were indicted by a Shelby County grand jury in the death of 19-year-old Javaughn Williams.

Police say the mother and son were armed with a tire iron and a box cutter, and they chased Williams over a fence where he drowned in a pool on the other side.

"I got a call from my wife saying somebody's dead in the pool," the homeowner said.

The man, who did not want to be identified, still remembers rushing home in August 2016 to find police and yellow crime scene tape around his house in Fox Meadows.

"When I got there, he was laying in the pool. It was just horrible," the man said.

According to a the district attorney, the Beasons and several others chased Williams across the parking lot at Belle Forrest Community School on Ridgeway Road after they said Williams had attacked his girlfriend--Anneckarena's daughter--during a fight.

Investigators say while trying to escape, Williams, who could not swim, jumped over a fence and ended up in the back yard swimming pool.

Reginald is accused of following Williams over the fence and grabbing a piece of timber and jabbing it at Williams, who went under the water.

The man said Beason told his wife, who witnessed what happened, this: "There's a n-word dead in your pool and he ain't coming out," he said.

Investigators say the mother and son never tried to help Williams but instead took off.

"We were disturbed about it. We hope this young man's family gets some type of justice out of it," the man said.

The Beasons are charged with aggravated assault that resulted in death. They are out on bond.

WMC5's Janice Broach contacted their attorney who was not aware they had been indicted.

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