About two hours before a 4-year-old was found on a neighborhood street in Dallas, a man lifted the sleeping boy out of his bed and carried him away.
The boy, whom the authorities identified as Cash Gernon on Monday, was cared for by Cash’s father’s girlfriend, according to the authorities. The friend, who said Cash’s father had been absent since March, identified the person who took Cash out of his bed at 5 a.m. on Saturday as Darriynn Brown, police said.
A police officer watched the home surveillance video with the girlfriend, who identified Brown as the man who took the boy out of his crib, according to the detective’s affidavit received on the Dallas Morning News. The affidavit does not include details of Brown’s relationship with Cash’s family, nor does it provide an explanation that Brown is taking Cash.
18-year-old Brown has been charged with kidnapping and theft, the Dallas Police Department said in a statement. Investigators anticipate further charges if forensic results return, the statement added.
Dallas police also said that Cash’s mother did not know that he and his twin brother were in the care of her father’s friend and that the mother had been looking for their sons. Police said Cash’s twin is now with his mother.
Police received a call that a child was dead on a neighborhood street at around 6:50 a.m. on Saturday.
Police spokesman Albert Martinez told the Dallas Morning News that the boy died violently with a “sharp weapon”. The child’s name has not been released, but Martinez said authorities believe he lived in southwest Dallas, where he was found.
“We are shocked, we are very angry about what happened to this little child,” Martinez told the newspaper.
Brown’s bond is $ 1.5 million. His attorney, Robbie McClung, said Monday that she has not yet met with him so she cannot comment.
Brown was arrested on April 27 of a misdemeanor for evading arrest on a pending case. According to court records for that charge, he lives with his parents half a mile from where the boy’s body was found. Neighbors have said Brown was known for walking in the area.
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Antwainese Square, 39, told the Morning News that she alerted authorities after seeing the boy’s body while jogging on Saturday morning. She said the boy’s face and upper body were covered in blood and he had no shoes or a shirt.
“I just mean knowing that someone out there is capable of killing a child, that by itself is just worrying,” she said.
Lila Gilbert, 18, told the newspaper that she was walking down the street to the crime scene and saw the child. At some point the blanket covering him fell off and she saw blood and bite marks on his face.
“There’s a lot to see,” said Gilbert. “It’s so shocking to me that it’s a 4 year old, someone’s baby. That could have been my little cousin or brother or something. It’s just the point he’s gone now. It’s just terrifying. “
The Federal Bureau of Investigation was involved in the investigation into the murder. On Saturday afternoon, they concentrated on a wooded path not far from where the body was found. The path that neighbors said was popular for cycling was sealed off with duct tape at the scene.
Contributor: The Associated Press.