Mother and Boyfriend Charged in Murder of One-Year-Old
Megan Sheets, Daily Mail, January 30, 2019
The parents of a one-year-old boy who allegedly was struck and killed by his father have been arrested and charged with felony murder.
Police say 20-year-old Jaimie Howard ‘chose to look away’ as her boyfriend A’kym Henderson, 21, repeatedly punched their son King in the head.
A’kym Henderson
Jaimie Howard
Howard then brought the baby to a hospital in Macon, Georgia, early Friday morning and claimed that she found the boy unresponsive.
The baby was pronounced dead and there were no visible signs of abuse, but an autopsy determined he’d suffered a head injury.
Henderson was arrested the same day when an investigation revealed that he’d hit the boy, according to the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.
When investigators interviewed Howard on Tuesday morning they learned that she was present at the time of the fatal strike but failed to act, police say.
‘Howard did not seek medical attention for the infant after the incident, until the infant became unresponsive,’ a statement from the sheriff’s office said.
The mother was subsequently arrested and charged with felony murder.
According to an arrest warrant, Howard is accused of ‘acting in concert’ with Henderson as she ‘attempted to cover up this incident by initially stating she was only woken up by the victim struggling to breathe’.
She stuck to that account when first questioned by the police but later changed her story.
The warrant says Howard admitted that she witnessed Henderson punch the boy in the head multiple times and she ‘chose to look away’.
The baby’s uncle and Howard’s half-brother, Aaron Beaver, told the Macon Telegraph that his sister wants a private autopsy on the child because she doesn’t believe Henderson is guilty.
Beaver described Howard and Henderson as devoted parents who stopped going out at night and partying to care for their child, who turned one on January 20.
‘They gave all that up when King was born,’ Beaver said. ‘She and A’kym put that baby on a pedestal.’
He said Howard has been ‘the sweetest little girl since she was 10’ and ‘wouldn’t harm a butterfly’.
Beaver couldn’t explain what happened to King but said his sister is ‘heartbroken’.
Howard reportedly told family members she wants to have the baby cremated so she can wear his ashes in an hourglass necklace around her neck.
Both Howard and Henderson are currently being held at the Bibb Law Enforcement Center.
Bail amounts and hearing dates were not listed in jail records for either suspect as of Wednesday morning.
Investigators have asked anyone with information about the incident to contact the Bibb Sheriff’s Office at 478-751-7500, or call Macon Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-877-68CRIME.
