Man was ‘overwhelmed’ and beat girlfriend’s 23-month-old to death, Florida cops say
A man babysitting his girlfriend’s 23-month-old is accused of killing the child when he became “overwhelmed,” Florida authorities said.
Bobby Curry Jr., 20, faces charges of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse, Lakeland Police Department Chief Sam Taylor announced Monday, March 18.
The incident occurred March 5, when Taylor said Curry was tasked with watching his girlfriend’s toddler, Ezekiel Cotto-Saintfleur.
Curry’s girlfriend of four months was at work, according to police, and he had moved in with her a few weeks prior.
Shortly before 5:30 p.m. that day, Curry called 911 about an unresponsive child, police said.
When first responders arrived, they performed CPR and took him to a hospital, where he died three days later.
A medical examiner ruled the cause of death was blunt force trauma, with the manner of death homicide.
The child had also suffered a brain bleed and had been without oxygen for at least 45 minutes, police said.
But Curry’s explanation of events did not align with information from doctors and an autopsy, police said.
Curry told investigators he gave the child a bath that day, but as he was taking the boy out of the bath, one of the two dogs living in the house jumped on the child and caused him to fall and hit his head, police said.
He put the child down to rest, police said, but when he came back, he said the boy wasn’t breathing.
He began performing CPR and said he revived the child, according to police.
During this time, Curry messaged Ezekiel’s mother while she was at work, “describing Ezekiel’s severe physical difficulties, asking her in an Instagram message is it possible for a child to go into cardiac arrest,” Taylor said.
The couple exchanged 67 messages until the woman told him to call 911. Two hours passed between the “first signs of distress” and when the man called paramedics for help, police said.
On March 15, authorities arrested Curry on the two charges. Police said the physical evidence contradicted the story that a dog knocked the child down.
“It is unconscionable and unfathomable to believe that almost two-and-a-half hours could go by from the very first signs that Ezekiel was injured until Mr. Curry finally decided to notify 911,” Taylor said.
Curry’s attorney information is not available in Polk County case records.
Taylor said he believes Curry “reached a breaking point” and hit or pushed the child.
“I will tell you I suspect that (he) was overwhelmed,” Taylor said. “He was probably unused to babysitting a 23-month-old.”
There were two dogs and two ducks in the house as well, police said.
Charges have not been filed against the mother.
In this child’s obituary, family wrote that from the moment he was born, he brought “so much love and light to his family.”
“He loved Spiderman, dinosaurs and cars,” his family said. “He loved animals and showed so much kindness and patience toward them. He loved giving his cousins kisses.”
Lakeland is a city in central Florida, about a 35-mile drive east of Tampa.
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