A Fort Washington man was ordered held without bond today after he was charged with multiple counts of assault and child abuse in the death of his 2-year-old son.
According to charging documents, 32-year-old Lance Harrison, the father of 2-year-old Kayceson Barkley, said his son fell down some steps inside their Fort Washington home, and that’s why Barkley suffered so many gruesome injuries and died.
Authorities doubt that’s what really happened.
“I think that that’s what he wanted us to believe,” said Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy. “I think that the injuries are not consistent with those version that are that version of the facts. The injuries are not consistent with what the defendant in this case said happened.”
A D.C. medical examiner didn’t buy that either.
Charging documents say that Barkley’s body was cold and lifeless when he was rushed to a hospital in D.C. shortly before 4 a.m. An examination of the child’s body found Barkley suffered a fractured skull and fractured ribs, internal bleeding and hemorrhaging and lots of bruises around the head and upper body areas.
And while there was blood in several rooms of the home on Livingston Terrace, police found none around the stairs of the home that Harrison said his son fell down Saturday evening. Police also note he never called for help despite the severity of all those injuries.
“A 2-year-old should not die. A 2-year-old should absolutely not die by the hands of someone who’s supposed to love them and care for them,” said Braveboy. “And so this is a tragic case. It makes me very angry. Because this child never had a chance at life.”
A full autopsy is still underway, and Braveboy said it was possible charges against Harrison could be upgraded to include murder. But she also pointed out that child abuse resulting in death also carries a life sentence.
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