A 32-year-old Indiana man was arrested for allegedly killing his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son. Ricky Larkin He was arrested and charged with one count of murder for the brutal crime of the minor Je’Loni Smiththe authorities announced.
According to a news release from the Gary, Indiana Police Department, officers responded to a call for assistance at a residence located at 300 Arthur Street, approximately 160 miles northwest of Indianapolis.
The call came from the Gary Fire Department in reference to a 2-year-old child inside the home who was not breathing.
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders located the child, saying he was unresponsive and “appeared to be lifeless.” An adult man in the home said he was the victim’s father and revealed to authorities that the minor He was “in the bathtub when he discovered that he was not breathing”. The alleged father, later identified as Larkin, who is not actually the child’s father, said he performed CPR but was unable to resuscitate the child.
Emergency medical personnel transported the child to Methodist Northlake Hospital for treatment, where he was later pronounced dead.
An autopsy revealed the truth
“Gary Police Department officers on scene and Gary Fire Department They observed some swelling on the child, and at that time they notified supervisors to contact the Lake County Prosecutor’s Homicide Task Force as well as the Lake County Coroner,” the statement states.
One day after Je’Loni’s death, an autopsy conducted by the Lake County Coroner’s Office determined his manner of death was a homicide and the cause of death was blunt force trauma. The coroner found no signs of drowning.
A probable cause affidavit obtained by Chicago Fox affiliate WFLD provided additional details about the circumstances of the boy’s untimely death.
According to the report, The authorities were immediately suspicious of Larkin’s story about the child who was in the bathtub because he was not wet. A search of the house, which was a mess, revealed a metal bat that police said had been “conspicuously placed” near the bed.
Police later learned that Larkin was watching the boy because the victim’s mother had been hospitalized the day before for a drug overdose.
On the day of Je’Loni’s death, Larkin allegedly called and told the boy’s mother to go pick up the children because “she had things to do.” He stated that he was bathing the victim because one of the mother’s friends was coming to pick up the child, which is when the incident took place.
When asked if he ever disciplined children with violence, Larkin allegedly claimed he “doesn’t hit kids”explaining that the bruises on Je’Loni’s body were likely the result of slipping in the bathtub.
However, police said he changed his story after being questioned repeatedly about Je’Loni’s injuries and agreed that the boy’s injuries could only be the result of physical abuse.
Larkin is currently being held in the Lake County Jail without bond.
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