Murtadah Mohammad caused 7-year-old Jaevion Riley’s death, the Manchester Police Department said. (Mugshot: Manchester Police Department)
Half a year after his son succumbed to horrific burns and other injuries, a New Hampshire man has been charged with murder.
The defendant, Murtadah Mohammad, caused the child’s death “recklessly under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value of his life by subjecting him to abusive violence and not obtaining timely medical assistance for his injuries,” the Manchester Police Department said Monday. The victim, Jaevion Riley, was just 7 years oold.
Mohammad was already jailed for first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault, two counts of falsifying physical evidence, and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.
“It is anticipated that those charges will be dropped, and prosecution transferred wholly to the Attorney General’s Office to pursue the murder charge and any associated charges,” the New Hampshire Department of Justice said.
Officers have said that they were called at approximately 10:45 a.m. on Jan. 17 to an Eastern Avenue home on a report of a 7-year-old boy suffering significant burns to his face and body.
“It was also reported that the boy was not conscious or breathing,” police wrote.
Mohammad allegedly had told first responders he had been in the shower, so he did not see how his son got hurt, according to court documents obtained by NBC Boston in January. But authorities claim the did not spot signs of someone recently taking a shower. They also said Mohammad’s story had other inconsistences. The defendant later told cops that he used force and hot water to discipline the child, according to the affidavit. He was arrested on Jan. 19.
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“It looks as if it’s from boiling water or oil, or just straight, just, maybe set on fire,” Jaevion’s mother, Rainah Riley, told the outlet at the time. “His tooth was kicked out, he has blunt force trauma to the head. This man was trying to kill my child.”
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She said that Mohammad had gotten joint custody of their son several months before. Though she reported signs of abuse, including bruising, to the New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth and Families, nothing was done, she said.
“I called for wellness checks on him when he was with him, for the bruising, and nobody did anything,” she said. “The system has failed not only my child, but so many children. And something needs to be done, because this isn’t OK. It’s not. Like, when is enough enough?”
A DCYF spokesperson cited state and federal law in saying they had to protect children and family confidentiality, according to the outlet.
As for Jaevion, he languished for days in a coma at a Boston hospital. His mother said that doctors warned her that he would have minimal brain function if he woke up. He never would, however. He passed away on Jan. 24. The investigation, including the autopsy and the cause and manner of death, was ongoing at the time.
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