Edward Murray was indicted on a charge of murder after he allegedly beat his girlfriend’s 1-year-old son Kareem Keita to death at their Cincinnati, Ohio, home. (WXIX/YouTube)
An Ohio grand jury indicted a man for murder, felonious assault and child endangerment after he allegedly beat his girlfriend’s 21-month-old son to death.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Melissa Powers said Monday in a press release that paramedics responded early May 2 to a home in Cincinnati for an unresponsive child. Medical personnel found the child, later identified as Kareem Keita, not breathing. They rushed him to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital ICU where he died on May 5. Further investigation revealed he suffered several injuries, including bone fractures to his face and ribs, liver lacerations and brain swelling due to hemorrhaging, prosecutors said. Kareem also suffered a heart attack. An autopsy determined the cause of death was homicide.
Child abuse experts determined the injuries could have only come from “violent impacts against objects or from delivered blows,” prosecutors said. According to authorities, Kareem’s mother had been dating the suspect, 23-year-old mother Edward Murray, for about three months. On the evening of May 1, Murray and Kareem were outside playing. Murray allegedly brought Kareem inside and said the boy was tired and skipping dinner to go to bed. The suspect was with Kareem in his room for several minutes before going to smoke marijuana with his girlfriend, prosecutors said.
The next morning Murray found Kareem unresponsive and not breathing. Murray could not provide an explanation as to how Kareem was hurt so badly, according to prosecutors.
“This case is both heartbreaking and sickening. I cannot imagine the amount of evil required to hurt an innocent child so severely,” Powers said in a statement. “It is genuinely disturbing to think someone capable of doing this might walk among us. We are going to make sure that this killer goes behind bars for as long as possible.”
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Cincinnati police arrested Murray on child abuse charges on May 10. He’s at the Hamilton County Jail on a $1 million bond.
At a court hearing on May 11, Murray’s defense attorney said he has no prior criminal history.
“He’s exhibit A for why you should not speak to the police,” the defense attorney said, according to local ABC affiliate WCPO. “I believe you have statements from the defendant as a result of trickery that leads to false confession.”
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