An Iowa man is behind bars after police said he sat on and killed a toddler in a Council Bluffs motel room.
According to the Des Moines Register, Larry Murphy, 31, of Council Bluffs, was arrested Friday on first-degree murder and child endangerment charges in the death of his girlfriend's 2-year-old son, Oakland Oburu.
Police said the 6-foot-tall, 160-pound Murphy was punishing Oakland for taking his cellphone when he sat on the toddler on a bed for at least 20 seconds.
Oakland's mother, who has cerebral palsy, said the boy was moaning and then fell silent, according to police.
"She assumed [Oakland] was going to go back to sleep as Larry covered him up with the bed comforter and left the room to pay their motel rent," the criminal complaint said.
She told officers that her disability prevented her from checking on Oakland, the Register reported.
When Murphy returned, he found the boy unresponsive, police said.
Oakland, who was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, "had subconjunctival hemorrage in both eyes, which is a possible sign from being asphyxiated," the complaint said.
Murphy's bail was set at $1,025,000.
About the Author
