Prosecutors on Tuesday said that a 3-year-old boy who died last week suffered two weeks, if not months, of severe abuse.
Tatyana Edwards, the boy’s mother, 26, has pleaded not guilty to felony homicide. Abraham Hatch, her boyfriend, pled not guilty to capital murder.
Hatch, 19, was denied bond by Mobile County Circuit Judge Michael Windom, who set a $150,000 bail for Edwards. He also mandated that Edwards refrain from interacting with her older son, who is under the care of her aunt.
Tyren Edwards’ death on Wednesday at the University of South Alabama Children’s and Women’s Hospital was the result of chronic maltreatment, according to prosecutors.
“The evidence that the state would present will show that the injuries that the victim sustained in this case took place over a significant period of time,” Mobile County Assistant District Attorney Louis Walker told the judge.
“This was a child that should have been full of life,” he said. “He should have had the support of his family. He should have had the support of his mother, and instead, the last few weeks of his life, he was apparently tortured and abused and killed.”
He added: “It’s just something that’s tough to understand. It’s tough to understand how this can happen to a child and how someone would do this to a child.”
According to Blackwood, the autopsy proved Tyren had received more than just the fatal blow to the back of his head.
“We do know that he suffered over a period of time – chronic abuse, multiple stages of healing for those bruises and fractures and burns,” he said.
Walker informed the judge that the evidence reveals Edwards is also culpable for her son’s death.
“She was complicit in the abuse,” he said.
If convicted, Hatch risks life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. Prosecutors have not decided whether to seek the death sentence, but Walker has stated that the gravity of the charge is grounds for rejecting bail.
Jason Darley, a defense attorney, requested one nevertheless.
“He’s 19 years old, no adult criminal record, not a flight risk,” he said in court.
He’s from the area.”
Outside the courtroom, Darley stated that he had not seen any proof.
“We’ve not seen any allegations, other than the complaint,” he said.
Edwards’ lawyer, Chase Dearman, contended that his client is entitled to the lowest possible bail, $15,000, because she did not receive a hearing within 72 hours of her arrest. Aside from that, he stated that his client is neither a threat to the community nor a flight risk.
“She has no criminal record, whatsoever. … She did not run, like the co-defendant,” he said. “She cooperated with the police. She went in without a lawyer.”
Darley stated that his client left due to death threats and surrendered immediately after learning that an arrest warrant had been issued.
Ericka Massey, the victim’s grandmother, told FOX10 News that she was looking after the youngster in July and saw no signs of abuse.
“No scars, no anything,” said Massey, whose son is the boy’s father but not involved in the case. “I didn’t notice. I didn’t see anything until when I got to the hospital on the 8th. … He had to get those injuries that night, ‘cause I didn’t see anything. Remind you, I’m a grandmother, an old-school grandmother.”
Terrance Ball, Tatyana Edwards’ father, told FOX10 News on Monday that he saw minor injuries but nothing alarming.
“I used to see little marks on him,” he said, adding that he attributed it to Tyren being an active 3-year-old.
