Child-beating death: Stepdad charged after 2-year-old with 28 injuries dies.June 16, 2010|By Kevin P. Connolly, Orlando SentinelA 29-year-old man is accused of beating a toddler to death in Lakeland, police said today.
Deondray Ashe
The victim, 2-year-old Deondray Ashe, sustained 28 injuries to his head, face, and upper back.
Marcus Brown is accused of repeatedly striking the child with a belt in the upper torso and head on two separate occasions on Sunday, Lakeland Police said in state.
Police found the child at a residence at 1702 Fredericksburg Ave. on Monday after getting a report about an unresponsive child.
The child was not breathing and was later pronounced dead at the scene.
An autopsy deemed the death a homicide. The cause death was "blunt trauma to the head caused by an impact to the head,'' police said in a statement.
"The injuries sustained as a result of this abuse caused Deondray's death,'' the statement added. "Brown's actions were observed by an adult witness who was present while the physical abuse was inflicted."
The statement does not identify the adult witness.
Brown was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-06-16/news/os-child-beating-death-stepdad-arrest20100616_1_child-beating-death-abuse-unresponsive-child