Bianca Wells, a young mother from St. Louis, was doing her best to raise her 2-year-old son, Bre’Yon Wells. She went from being homeless to getting an apartment, a job, and getting her life on track. Wells was working to create a strong future for herself and her son. But those dreams fell apart on October 27, 2025, when Bre’Yon died a brutal death at the hands of someone she trusted.
According to St. Louis Metropolitan Police, dispatch received two calls about an unresponsive 2-year-old around 10:40 p.m. on October 27. Emergency responders found Bre’Yon near Interstate 70 and St. Louis Avenue in North St. Louis City. They took him to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, where he later died from multiple injuries.
On October 29, 21-year-old Nicco Cotton turned himself in to police, KMOV reported. According to court documents, Cotton allegedly killed Bre’Yon by forcibly sodomizing the innocent child. He reportedly told police he was the child’s sole caregiver for multiple days. Bre’Yon died from asphyxial injuries, internal injuries, including a lacerated liver, and multiple signs of sexual assault, the outlet reported.
Wells told KMOV she received the call about her son’s death after a 10-hour shift at work.
“I watch Law and Order all day, so to feel like this is me and this is my baby. The happiest baby in the world. He doesn’t deserve this. It feels like my heart is shattered,” she shared. “It doesn’t feel like I have air in my lungs right now.”
The poor mother feels a tremendous amount of guilt about what happened to her son. She believed she could trust Cotton, but he reportedly betrayed her in the worst possible way.
“That’s the worst part. I felt like my baby was safe, he was okay, and looked after, and he wasn’t,” Wells said, per KMOV. “I love you, doodie, I’m sorry.”
Latoya Johnston, Bre’Yon’s godmother, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Wells was doing everything she could to make a life for herself and Bre’Yon.
“She was not a bad mom,” Johnston said. “She was a trying mom. There is no book on parenting. There is no foundation of knowing how to take care of a child. She was trying, and she had the love and support of people trying to help her learn.”
Johnston said Bre’Yon’s father is in jail, and Wells recently totaled her car. She’d never met Cotton but knew some of his family from her work in St. Louis Public Schools. She urged people to give Wells grace during this incredibly difficult time.
“Don’t be so quick to judge. You don’t know the situation,” Johnston said, per the Dispatch. “We need love and we need prayers.”
Wells said her life will never be the same, but she hopes Cotton will face justice.
“When I can look him in his eyes and know that he’s going to sit behind a cell for the rest of his life, I’ll breathe,” Wells said, per KMOV.
Right now, Cotton remains in the St. Louis City Justice Center without bond. He faces murder, child abuse, and sodomy charges, according to court records.
A 2-year-old could never defend himself against a monster capable of such deviant acts. He didn’t deserve anything that happened to him. On the other hand, Cotton, if he’s convicted, deserves the worst possible punishment.
