A woman and her boyfriend are charged in the fatal beating of her 1-year-old son inside a Stone Mountain motel, DeKalb County police said.
Police said the boy, who was a month away from turning 2 years old, died Friday, two days after the alleged assault, Channel 2 Action News reported.
The boy’s mother, Ceddricka Davis, told police she was away from the couple’s room at the Stone Mountain Inn on Mountain Industrial Boulevard, police spokeswoman Shiera Campbell told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
When she came back to the room, Davis said she saw her boyfriend, Kevin Stewart, performing CPR on the child.
According to Channel 2 Action News, Stewart allegedly abused the boy for three hours, hitting him in the head, chest, arms and legs. Davis allegedly confessed to police she left her son in Stewart’s care after the two used marijuana and cocaine, the station reported.
Stewart’s cousin, Lakisha Brooks, told Channel 2 she can’t believe he would ever hurt a baby, but she said if the couple did commit this crime, they should be held accountable.
“If he took part in abusing an innocent child ... then they both do deserve to be punished,” Brooks told the news station.
Davis and Stewart took the boy to DeKalb Medical Center, Campbell said. He was later taken to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston.
During the investigation, Davis admitted Stewart had previously abused the boy after hospital personnel discovered older bruises on his body, Channel 2 reported.
The Division of Family and Children Services told Channel 2 it had no history with the family in Georgia. However, Channel 2 discovered Davis had a history with protective child services in Florida.
Stewart faces charges of aggravated battery and first-degree cruelty to children, according to DeKalb County jail records. Davis faces second-degree cruelty to children.
Stewart’s charges could be upgraded to felony murder, Campbell said.
No other details were released.
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