The mother of a Brooklyn man charged with beating and drowning a 3-year-old neighbor he was baby-sitting says she feels “ashamed” of her son, adding, “The whole family is sad.”
Kevin James, 29, is charged with murder and assault in the death of little Denim Brown inside an East Flatbush apartment building, with the city medical examiner ruling the death a homicide on Wednesday — and the accused killer’s own kin shattered by the senseless crime.
“It’s the devil came into my son and did that,” James’ mother, who asked that she not be identified by name, told The Post. “That’s not him. I feel horrible.
“The whole family is taking it hard,” she added. “We have not eaten at all.”
James was arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court on charges of second-degree murder, second-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child Tuesday and ordered held without bail.
According to a criminal complaint filed by the Brooklyn DA’s Office, Denim died as a result of “multiple blunt force trauma injuries to the face and body” and pulmonary edema, or drowning.
“I’m trying to get through it,” the slain toddler’s mom told The Post. “I don’t want to speak at the moment.”
Meanwhile, James’ mother, 58, said her partner, Michael, was entrusted with baby-sitting Denim but went into the bedroom when his stepson began playing with the toddler — unaware that he had instead taken the young victim next door into an empty apartment.
His mom said Michael heard “voices” and thought his stepson and the child were playing in the living room.
“The apartment opposite to me is empty. Nobody lives there,” she said. “The door was pulled up, not locked. Kevin took Denim in there. Nobody knew. All this time Michael thought they were in the living room. He didn’t realize there was silence. Kevin took Denim to the empty apartment.”
When Michael realized Denim was missing, he and James’ brother began frantically searching the building for the boy, until they made the grisly discovery, she said.
“When [her other son] was coming back, he saw water at the elevator coming from the apartment,” she said. “Something just told him to go look in 4G. He turned the knob and it opened. He went in to look around and he saw the baby in the tub.
“He pulled the baby out. He knocked on 4H, telling his younger brother to open the door,” she said. “He rushed in with the baby and started giving him mouth-to-mouth. Michael pushed him away and started doing chest compressions. He thought he could do it better.”
They called 911, but it was too late — Denim was pronounced dead after being rushed to Kings County Hospital, according to police.
“When they told me they found Denim and he was unresponsive, I started bawling,” James’ mother said. “I fell to the floor screaming.
“I rushed home,” she said. “I paid a co-worker $200 to cover her shift and $45 for an Uber to come home. On my way home, my sister called and said the baby died. I was going crazy. I screamed so loud, the driver swerved. When I got home, cops were all over.
“They said Kevin was downstairs,” she added. “They knocked on my door. They asked him, ‘Do you know this woman?’ He told them, ‘I’ve never seen her a day in my life.’ He lives with me.”
She said her son’s life began to spiral downward when he began smoking the synthetic drug K-2.
“He started smoking that thing two years ago. He worked at the Bowery Mission,” she said. “A year and a half ago, they gave him an ultimatum — either go to a program or get fired. He picked the program. When he came back, I really didn’t see a big change. His mental state was not right.”
About two weeks ago, she confronted her son about his job.
“I said, ‘Kevin, what happened?’ He said, ‘I quit.’”
Additional reporting by Amanda Woods
