MEMPHIS, TN- A 22-year-old man from Memphis, Tennessee, has been taken into custody on charges of child abuse and neglect following the death of his girlfriend’s toddler son, as per court records. The man, identified as Anthony Andrews, is alleged to have repeatedly hit the two-year-old boy with a braided dog toy, leading to his death.
Emergency services discovered the child, named Anthony Bakare in the court documents, unresponsive and not breathing early Monday morning. The toddler had visible bruises on his body and blood around his mouth. The child’s mother reported to the police that her son was in good health when she last saw him on Sunday night before she retired to bed.
The mother further informed the police that Andrews was in charge of the child at the time. She also revealed to the authorities that she had previously witnessed Andrews hitting her son with the dog toy and a belt. The arrest report includes a confession from Andrews, where he admitted to hitting the child “harder than he should have.”
Andrews also confessed to hitting the child seven or eight times with the dog toy on the night of the incident. He also admitted to shoving the child into a corner before putting him back to bed. The child reportedly fell out of bed a few minutes later.
The charges against Andrews could reportedly be escalated based on the autopsy results. As per the latest jail records, Andrews is being held on a $250,000 bond. It remains unclear whether Andrews has entered a plea. He is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.