A Brooklyn mother has been charged with murder in connection with the death of her 3-year-old son, Kyng Davis.
File photo by Gabriele Holtermann/File photo via Facebook
A Brooklyn mother was charged with murder Wednesday in connection with the 2025 death of her 3-year-old son.
Sunshyne Davis, 25, was arrested on June 17 after an autopsy determined the cause of death of her son, Kyng Davis, was child abuse.
She and her boyfriend, 39-year-old Robert White, are facing charges of second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, and endangering the welfare of a child, according to Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.
Last March, the couple allegedly brought Kyng, who was bruised and unconscious, to the hospital and left him with medical staff, then fled before they could be questioned or identified. The child had already been dead for at least a few hours, according to the Daily News.
The couple dropped Kyng off at SUNY Downstate last March. File photo courtesy of Google Maps
An autopsy later determined that Kyng’s had suffered from blunt-force trauma, starvation and dehydration.
According to the District Attorney’s office, Davis, White and Kyng had been living together in White’s car at the time of the incident. Two weeks before Kyng’s death, White had allegedly slapped the toddler repeatedly after he urinated on himself.
White was arrested and charged with second-degree assault for the incident in March 2025, two days after Kyng’s death, though charges related to the alleged murder were not immediately served as the cause of the toddler’s death was not yet known.
Family members said they were unable to contact Davis after her son’s death, and reported that she had developmental disabilities and did not “have the mindset to distinguish a lot of between what’s right and wrong.”
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said the case will be prosecuted “vigorously”. File photo by Gabriele Holtermann
Davis pleaded not guilty on all charges Wednesday and was ordered to be held without bail. She will next appear in court in late July. White, who has been in custody since his arrest last year, is set to be arraigned “at a later date,” per the DA’s office.
“This innocent child allegedly suffered day after day, denied the most basic care and compassion,” Gonzalez said. “Instead of safeguarding Kyng Davis, the defendants are accused of inflicting the very harm that led to his death. We will vigorously prosecute this case to secure justice for Kyng and ensure accountability for this devastating tragedy.”
Family members and neighbors had repeatedly raised concerns about Kyng’s welfare, according to the New York Times. In December 2024, a neighbor told police she believed White and Davis were beating the toddler in their apartment. Though cops responded to the scene, they did not enter the apartment and never saw Kyng. The couple also reportedly had an open file with the city’s Administration for Children’s Services prior to Kyng’s death, though neighbors said they had not seen social workers who visited the building interact directly with the couple or with Kyng.