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Mom's Boyfriend Allegedly Beats Toddler To Death, Two Days After Caseworker Determined Him To Be Safe
Dejon Waters was supposed to be babysitting Ja'hir Gibbons when the 2-year-old was violently injured and died at the hospital. His mother, Brittany Hyc, also faces charges.
A 2-year-old boy is dead, allegedly beaten to death by his mother’s boyfriend, just two days after a Department of Children and Families visit in which a caseworker investigated abuse claims and determined the toddler to be safe.
Dejon Waters, 21, and Brittany Hyc, 28, have now been charged in connection with the death of Hyc's son, according to the Chicago Police Department. Waters "was in charge of babysitting the child” on Monday. That evening at around 6 p.m., police received a call about an unresponsive child.
"The boy had visible signs of injury such as sores and bruises to his face and body," police stated.
The child, identified as Ja’hir Gibbons by the Chicago Tribune, was transported to a hospital but it was too late. He succumbed to his injuries.
"During the investigation, Waters admitted to physically abusing the child and causing the victim's fatal injuries," police alleged. He allegedly beat the child both with his hands and a rolled-up shirt until the toddler foamed at the mouth, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Hyc is accused of "knowingly endangering the life of her son by leaving him in the care of Dejon Waters who had battered the child on previous occasions."
Waters has been charged with first-degree murder while Hyc was charged with child endangerment. It’s not clear if they have lawyers who can speak on their behalf. Waters was denied bail and Hyc was jailed on $200,000 bail.
Two days before the fatal beating, a caseworker visited the home, where Gibbons lived with his 5-year-old sibling, to investigate claims of neglect and abuse. The caseworker wrote that both children were safe, but a day after Gibbon’s death that same caseworker filed another report claiming that they never saw Gibbons at all that day.
The caseworker is now under investigation.
“Falsifying records will not be tolerated,” DCFS Interim Director Debra Dyer-Webster said in a statement, the Chicago Tribune reports. “DCFS will pursue all available discipline, including termination, if records were falsified.”
