Man in custody in death of 19-month-old

NORTH NEWTON — Authorities said this morning they have arrested a man on suspicion of murder in connection with the death of a 19-month-old boy.

Authorities stopped short of calling the death a homicide, instead calling it a "suspicious death" at a news briefing today.

The boy had numerous injuries — old and new — throughout his body, said Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton and North Newton Police Chief Ray Classen. He also had at least two broken bones.

"Literally, the baby had bruising from its head to its toes,'' Walton said.

Classen said a neighbor told authorities after the boy died Saturday that in the past she had heard noises, including shouting, from the residence. But she did not report any of those incidents to local authorities.

She told investigators that she did call a national exploited and missing child hotline in the past to report her concerns about noises from the residence.

Walton said the Newton office of Social and Rehabilitation Services had not previously investigated the family.

"It's very upsetting. Had we been notified, we could have been looking into these reports," Classen said.

Police said a 911 call to emergency dispatchers came from the man now in custody at 3:15 p.m. Saturday. The nature of the call was a report of a child not breathing.

The child was pronounced dead about an hour later at a local hospital. When the call came in, the mother was at a baby shower in Wichita, authorities said.

The boy's 6-week-old sister, who was with her mother at the baby shower at the time of the 911 call, is now staying with a relative.

If the case is ruled a homicide, it would be the first in North Newton since it was incorporated in 1938, Classen said. It would be the first child homicide in Harvey County since 2001, Walton said.

About a dozen investigators from the Harvey County Sheriff's Office, North Newton Police Department and Newton Police Department are working the case. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is expected to join the investigation.

An autopsy on the child has been completed and investigators are awaiting a chance to study the results.

Walton said the mother told authorities the child had fallen down four to five carpeted stairs the day before the 911 call. But that kind of injury is not consistent with the injuries the child had when he was taken to the hospital, Walton said.

He said the suspect had no explanation for the boy's injuries.

The family, from Peabody, had lived in the two-story duplex since November or December. While executing a search warrant, investigators seized marijuana and drug paraphernalia from the residence.

"It's not only a tragedy for this child's family, but a tragedy for our community,'' Walton said.

This story was originally published March 29, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Man in custody in death of 19-month-old."