A 23-year-old Douglas County man, accused of killing his 2-year-old son, said the toddler called him the "b-word," which enraged him, Channel 2 Action News reported Thursday.
Courtney Chauvez Craig confessed to beating his son in anger, the station reported.
King Davis, 2, of Louisiana, was visiting his father March 1, when he was found unresponsive in Craig’s Millwood Park apartment, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported.
Adults in the apartment called 911, but the toddler was dead when officers arrived.
Craig was taken into custody because of the suspicious nature of the death, police said.
“Coming out of the shower, the child called him a b***h, and while he was aware of the child’s language in the past, he didn’t take kindly to the child using that term to him. Also he refused to go to sleep and that angered him more,” said Douglas County Sheriff’s Investigator Jay Davies.
Physical evidence showed the boy had bruises on his torso and abdomen, Davies said.
“There was a bite mark on the child’s shoulder, on his back,” Davies said in court. “There were also contusions behind the ears, which is common in child abuse cases when a child is hit in the head.”
At first, Craig told investigators that his son got sick and may have had an allergic reaction after eating at a seafood restaurant, Channel 2 reported.
But after further questioning, Craig admitted to attacking the boy.
“He acknowledged biting the child,” Davies said. That he punched him in the stomach and the chest.”
The investigator said the medical examiner found the toddler had several broken ribs, Channel 2 reported.
King’s mother, Shovannie Davis, was in the courtroom, according to the station.
“I couldn’t bear with it, that’s why I had to step outside,” she told reporters. “Just hearing something like that was done to my child hurt me.”
She said the boy’s father never demonstrated any abusive behavior toward her their son in the past, according to Channel 2.
King’s grandmother said she felt depressed before, but now she felt angry.
“I want justice for King,” Spanky Davis said. “I want justice to be served.”
Craig did not enter a plea during his first court appearance, according to Channel 2.
He is being charged with cruelty to children and felony murder.
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