A Nevada couple appeared in court on Saturday amid allegations that they killed their 2-year-old son who was discovered in a dumpster a day earlier.
Jacoby Robinson Jr. was reported missing on Thursday, a day before he was found deceased a few blocks from his Las Vegas home. His father, Jacoby Robinson, 24, said the boy had been beaten and he cleaned vomit out of his nose and mouth before he went back to sleep, according to KSNV.
Prosecutors said Robinson Jr. had injuries all over his body from being whipped with a cord. Officials also noted that the toddler had injuries to his genitals consistent with bands from rubber bands that were found in Robinson and Diaja Smith’s home, KSNV reported.
Around the time of Robinson Jr.’s disappearance, Smith, 23, was seen with her two other children near the dumpster where her son was found.
“I saw a lady sitting there with her two other kids, really hysterical saying ‘somebody took my kid, somebody took my kid,’” a resident told KVVU.
Smith faces charges of open murder and child abuse. Robinson is charged with child abuse, but prosecutors said he will also be charged with open murder, according to KLAS.
The Clark County Coroner’s Office will perform an autopsy to confirm the 2-year-old’s cause of death.
