WASHINGTON – D.C. police say Peter Hendy punched 4-year-old Kamari Zavon Taylor twice in the abdomen, severing the boy’s liver and breaking several ribs. The punches left bruises and knuckle marks on the boy’s abdomen.
Hendy then left Kamari in a bedroom while he sold marijuana on the street outside, according to charging documents that detail the evidence against Hendy.
The boy’s injuries were so severe the boy died soon after his mother’s boyfriend punched him for being what Hendy called a “smart mouth kid,” court documents say.
Hendy is charged with first-degree murder and appeared in D.C. Superior Court Wednesday. He was ordered held without bond.
Police discovered Kamari unconscious Monday afternoon lying on the bedroom floor in a home in the 5600 block of Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue NE. He was taken to the hospital were he was pronounced dead.
An autopsy determined that the boy died of multiple blunt impact injuries. The medical examiners office said that the injuries to the liver were caused by “a severe amount of force” and that a closed fist punch could have caused the damage, according to court documents.
The medical examiner’s report also said that the injuries likely could not have been caused by a fall, court records say.
Hendy told police that after Kamari’s mother left for work about 10:45 Monday morning, he watched the boy ride his scooter in the street. He scolded Kamari for riding too far from where Hendy could see him. But the boy said he didn’t have to listen to Hendy, because Hendy wasn’t Kamari’s father, Hendy told police.
Hendy became angry and told police he then hit the boy twice in the stomach telling him “you’re going to listen to me,” court records say.
Hendy told police the boy then continued riding his scooter for another 30 to 45 minutes but when Kamari returned, he was sweating and shaking. Hendy said he thought the boy was dehydrated so he took him inside, gave him some water and put him in bed. He then returned outside to sell marijuana, according to court records.
When Hendy returned to the house an hour later, he saw bruises on the boy’s stomach and noticed a “blank look” on the boy’s face. He then continued selling marijuana outside. When he checked on the boy a second time, he realized the boy was unresponsive and he called 911 and the boy’s mother, court documents said.
Police arrived at the home after 2 p.m.
The medical examiner’s report said that it “would have been impossible for (Kamari) to continue to ride his scooter for 30 to 45 minutes after suffering these injuries,” court documents say.
Hendy was arrested shortly after midnight Wednesday by the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force.
Here’s ABC7’s story:
WTOP’s Neal Augenstein, Megan Cloherty and Amanda Iacone contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter.
