Marvin Rex Lake El Paso Texas man charged with the capital murder of 1-year-old boy, after responding with ‘wrestling-style moves’ upon the toddler tearing at a pillow.
A Texas babysitter has been charged with capital murder after telling police he used ‘several wrestling-style moves and a football hold’ on a one-year-old boy who tore through a pillow. The boy who was found unresponsive was rushed to hospital where he was put on life support before the child’s parents decided to let ‘him pass away.’
Marvin Rex Lake, 24, was arrested following the death of Ahren Joshua DeHart who suffered multiple injuries, including a fractured skull, brain damage and hemorrhaging of the lung.
Lake, of El Paso, is initially said to have told police he had no idea how the boy was hurt, KFOX14 reports.
The man later recanted, admitting he had carrying out the wrestling moves and putting the toddler baby boy in a football hold after getting upset that the child had ripped a pillow at his West Side residence, cops say.
Lake is said to have admitted anger issues, saying he did not know his own strength. But there’s more.
Police according to an affidavit, say the babysitter insisted: ‘I did not hurt his head. I only caused the internal injuries.’
The victim was being watched by Lake, along with two other children, on April 13 while their mothers were at work.
In a video call with the mom of the other children earlier in the evening, DeHart was ‘in good health and alert, but was crying and fussy’.
By 9.30pm – just over four hours later – the babysitter called the second mom and told her DeHart had ‘rag dolled’ and vomited up ‘something red’.
When the child’s parents — who are said to be a labor and delivery department worker at a local hospital and a member of the U.S. military — returned home just before midnight, they found their son unresponsive. They took the child to a hospital with various injuries that authorities say were ‘non-accidental.’
The two other children in Lake’s care were also found with injuries, authorities say.
DeHart died on April 16.
Suspect sought reimbursement for damaged futon
Extended family told KTSM 9 News it was the first time that Lake watched DeHart and that he was a friend of the infant’s parents.
DeHart’s regular babysitter had called out sick and Lake was a last-minute child care option, the family added.
Lawrence DeHart, Ahren’s uncle, said: ‘Ahren was on life support and on Friday, at around 2:30 p.m. we were all there at the hospital and they decided to disconnect everything and let him pass away.
‘Never in my life did I think I, my family, a 20-year-old newly married couple with almost an exact 1 year-old baby would have to live through this.’
Lake is said to have spoken with police the day before the boy’s death seeking to be reimbursed for damages to the futon DeHart is said to have been injured on.
He remains in jail with no bond.
A GoFundMe page to benefit the family has received more than $12,782 in donations as of Wednesday night.
