A California man is behind bars after police say he brutally beat a toddler boy to death inside a car in Longwood.
According to ABC 7, police arrested 32-year-old Charles Edward Davis Jr. on Sunday in Inglewood, after he fatally assaulted 2-year-old William Meeks III. He’s been charged with murder and assault.
Investigators said the incident happened in a parking lot at a liquor store off of the 900 block of Daisy Avenue. Davis allegedly parked his silver 2016 Hyundai Sonata at the liquor store with the toddler seated inside the vehicle on June 14.
At around 7:35 p.m., according to detectives, Davis assaulted the toddler to the point that he was unresponsive. First responders arrived and found the boy in the arms of a bystander who tried to render aid.
“During their investigation, detectives learned the suspect and the victim were alone inside a parked vehicle in the 900 block of Daisy Avenue when the assault took place. When authorities arrived on scene victim Meeks was in the arms of a Good Samaritan who was attempting to render medical aid,” the Long Beach Police Department said in a press release.
Initially, authorities thought a medical issue caused the boy’s condition. A recent autopsy release confirmed that Williams had been brutally assaulted. The boy died at the hospital two days later.
Davis remains behind bars on a $2 million bond. Police said the man was an acquaintance of the child’s mother.
The case is ongoing. Anyone with information should call LBPD homicide detectives Benjamin Vargas, Mark Mattia or Donald Colliet at 562-570- 7244. Tips can be left with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
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[Feature Photo: Pixabay]
