Raleigh father picked up food, waited to get help while 5-year-old was dying

A Raleigh boy in a coma, covered in bruises and cuts, died after his father failed to get him medical care for nearly two hours.

The child didn’t reach a hospital until the father’s friend stopped to pick up and deliver food to her boyfriend, an autopsy says. Karter Holloway, 5, might have survived if his father acted more quickly, the medical examiner concluded.

Karter was one of three Wake County children whose parents were charged with their murders in the last three months of 2023.

Amir Hines, 25, came into his son Karter’s life after being released from prison in mid-2023 following an armed robbery conviction. Karter’s grandmother Tiffani Holloway told The News & Observer that she and Karter’s mother, Madison Holloway, were thrilled when Hines asked to spend time with his son.

They started with visits at the Holloway home, gradually allowing Karter to join Hines, his girlfriend and her children on family outings, play dates and overnight visits, Holloway said. At Christmas, Karter left for his first multiple-day visit with his father, she said.

On New Year’s Eve, Tiffany Holloway got a call from her daughter. Karter — who she called “my bop-bop” — was bruised and breathing through a ventilator at UNC REX Hospital in Raleigh, she said.

On Tuesday, Holloway told the News & Observer that her family is living “moment by moment,” attending therapy and support groups, and trying to support each other as best they can through the court process.

Hines continues to deny he did anything wrong, she said.

“If he could admit to it, it would be some form of — not closure — but I just need him to take accountability,” Holloway said.

What happened to Karter?

Karter arrived at the hospital in a coma and showed multiple hemorrhages and blunt force injuries to both sides of his head and brain, the autopsy says. He also had multiple bruises, cuts and scrapes on his torso, arms and legs, it says.

Karter was airlifted to UNC Children’s Hospital in Chapel Hill for emergency brain surgery, but died on Jan. 1, 2024, wrapped in a blanket covered in family photos that his grandmother brought.

Hines was charged with first-degree murder and remains in the Wake County Detention Center, where he is awaiting a trial. He could face life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder, court documents show.

Hines told officials his son fell off his bike on Dec. 30, 2023, and hit his head on the pavement, the autopsy says. Karter did not lose consciousness and kept riding his bike, he told officials.

The next morning, Hines said he put Karter in the tub after he wet the bed, the autopsy says. Hines returned to the bathroom after hearing Karter fall, it says. Karter did not lose consciousness, but may have hit his head again, Hines reported.

He put Karter to bed, checking on him at 3:30 p.m., several hours later, it says. Hines told police Karter was “unresponsive and limp,” it says.

A friend arrived about an hour later to drive Hines and Karter to the hospital. They stopped to pick up food and drop it off with her boyfriend on the way, it says. They arrived at 5:10 p.m.

Hines changed parts of his story in subsequent interviews with a child abuse specialist who interviewed family at the hospital, the autopsy says.

Changing story, injuries questioned

Karter’s mother told the specialist that she was “shocked by the bruises,” it says. She also reported that Hines had been “frustrated” before with Karter, who was diagnosed with autism.

Other relatives said Karter had returned from a prior visit with a bruise on the side of his head, the autopsy says.

“His father said (it) was from hitting himself with a toy,” the autopsy reports.

The autopsy’s authors concluded that falling off a bike and in the tub — or even “autistic head banging behaviors” — could have caused some injuries, but not all of them.

“Injuries affecting multiple planes of the head… are very uncommonly encountered in accidental scenarios unless involving a particularly complex, high-energy mechanism such as a car crash with roll-over or a long fall down a tall set of stairs,” wrote staff with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Raleigh.

“Subdural and subarachnoid hemorrhage can be caused by accidental trauma such as falls in rare instances in children, but inflicted trauma is highly associated with these injuries,” they said.

But even more concerning, they said, is that Hines waited 90 to 130 minutes to get medical help for Karter and, even then, stopped to pick up and deliver food.

“A person with sound judgment should have recognized this as an emergency and called 911. A prompter response and/or closer monitoring by Karter’s caregivers could potentially have saved his life,” they said.