A man from Pennsylvania is facing charges of attempted murder for allegedly causing severe injuries to his girlfriend’s 1-year-old son, resulting in the child being placed in a medically induced coma.
The little boy suffered a stroke and had a broken vertebra in his neck, WPXI reported.
According to reports, Lyndon Henderson, the boyfriend of the child’s mother, was entrusted with looking after the toddler while the mother was at work on November 23. Upon her return, she discovered her son, Kybrel, unresponsive on the couch.
Following the distressing discovery, the child was rushed to the hospital, where he was placed on a ventilator to aid his breathing. Doctors determined that the young boy had sustained a traumatic brain injury and multiple bruises, injuries indicative of severe child abuse.
Henderson reported said the baby boy fell off the couch after he had spun him in circles. He said the boy recovered from the fall and “was smiling,” he told investigators.
Henderson was initially arrested on aggravated assault charges, but those charges have been upgraded to attempted murder, WPXI said.
“My office will always seek justice for victims,” Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh said. “Children are innocent and our most vulnerable, and I will prosecute offenders who commit crimes against them vigorously and to the fullest extent the law allows.”
Baby Kybrel’s grandmother, Carla Darrell, told the station that Henderson, who is being held without bond, beat the baby “like a man.”
“I don’t believe he belongs out of jail. He belongs there. He belongs where he deserves. He deserves in there,” said Darrell.
