QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11) — The Administration for Children’s Services will be reviewing the case of the Queens toddler who died days after a brutal beating, the agency said Friday.
“The death of 2-year-old Maliek is a terrible tragedy, and we mourn his loss. Through our intensive review process, we will be reviewing this case to ensure that we are doing everything possible to keep children safe and families supported,” an ACS spokesperson said in a statement to PIX11 News.
The boy, Maliek, died at a Manhattan hospital Wednesday night with his mother by his side, police said.
“It’s too late, it’s too late. Ya’ll saw the signs. My son cried every time he had to go with that man. It’s too late,” Maliek’s mother, Cyndy Williams, said Wednesday night about warning agencies, like ACS, about the dad.
The toddler was on life support after his father, Dayvon Morrison, allegedly attacked him over the weekend, prosecutors said. Maliek suffered a blown pupil, a fractured pelvis, a lacerated liver, and severe brain damage.
Morrison, 30, told investigators he was drunk when he allegedly attacked the boy in a room at a Long Island City homeless shelter on 21st Street sometime over the weekend, according to the criminal complaint.
Morrison said he noticed the boy’s injuries when he woke up on Saturday morning, but doesn’t remember beating him because he was intoxicated, prosecutors said. He noticed his son’s condition deteriorating on Sunday but never sought medical help, according to court records.
Witnesses called 911 after seeing the child’s injuries when Morrison dropped off his other child at a Manhattan home at around 3:25 a.m. Monday, according to the complaint.
Morrison was charged with attempted murder and assault, but those charges are expected to be upgraded, prosecutors said. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on Wednesday and is being held without bail.
His attorney declined to comment on Friday.
Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the NYC area for more than a decade. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here.
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