QUEENS, NY — A Queens man has been charged with murder in the shocking death of his 2-year-old son, whom he allegedly beat earlier this year, police said.
Dayvon Morrison, 30, was indicted this week on two counts of murder after the medical examiner ruled the death of his son, Maliek, a homicide, authorities said.
Morrison was first arrested last month after bringing the boy to his mother’s home in Manhattan, where witnesses spotted the child’s severe injuries and called police.
“A parent’s most sacred responsibility is ensuring the safety of their children,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement. “As alleged, this defendant chose to abandon that solemn duty when he inflicted life-threatening injuries on his 2-year-old son, Maliek, and then let him suffer.”
Prosecutors say Morrison was the sole caretaker of Maliek and his young daughter on Jan. 30 and 31, when the boy suffered his fatal injuries.
On Feb. 2 at about 1:30 a.m., Morrison arrived in Manhattan to drop off his daughter, hiding Maliek in the stroller’s undercarriage — a storage space — for roughly two hours before moving him to the seat.
Witnesses then noticed the toddler’s dire condition and alerted authorities.
Rushed to a local hospital and placed on a ventilator, Maliek had a blown right pupil, fractured pelvis, lacerated liver, brain stem damage, multiple brain bleeds, severe brain swelling and other injuries; he died two days later.
Maliek’s mother, Cyndy Williams, said she had previously warned the Administration for Children’s Services about Morrison, according to PIX11.
“I fought for my son. I warned ACS, the courts, NYPD. Everybody. But now y’all can hear me? Now y’all can hear me?” Williams told the media last month.
Last week, Queens Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant remanded Morrison and ordered him to return to court on May 1. If convicted, Morrison faces up to 25 years to life in prison.