Mom says friend beat her baby
The mother said she had no photos of her son, just undeveloped film.
THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The mother of a boy who died after being beaten on his first birthday says a friend did it.
A St. Elizabeth Health Center spokeswoman Thursday night referred calls about the boy to the Mahoning County coroner. The baby had been placed on life support at the hospital before he died.
April Ford described the man in custody, Terrance Tate, as a friend, not a boyfriend. Tate, 21, of Hilton Avenue on the city's South Side, was arrested on a felonious assault charge at 12:10 a.m. Thursday, before the boy died. The charge wasn't filed, and Tate remained in jail.
Capt. Kenneth Centorame, chief of detectives, said investigators would meet today with City Prosecutor Jay Macejko about the case. Centorame said it's his understanding that Ford and Tate had a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship.
"He beat my baby," Ford said Thursday afternoon, standing inside her small apartment at 520 Griffith St., just north of downtown. "I don't know why."
Ford had just returned from meeting with detectives at police headquarters downtown. The case is assigned to Detective Sgts. John Patton and Rick Spotleson.
When a reporter asked if Tate had beaten her son before, Ford said, "No." She declined to comment further.
What happened
The 25-year-old mother said she had no photos of her son, Javonte Covington, whose birthday was Tuesday. She said she has some undeveloped film.
Javonte and his mother were dropped off at St. Elizabeth Health Center late Wednesday afternoon. Hospital staff in the trauma unit told Detective Sgt. Cynthia Dellick that Javonte was unresponsive when brought in and they considered his injuries suspicious.
When interviewed at the hospital Wednesday by Dellick, Ford didn't say Tate had beaten her son. She told the detective sergeant that the boy throws tantrums and sometimes falls on the floor.
The mother told police she heard a noise Tuesday evening, then found Javonte, with his left eye reddened, at the bottom of the apartment steps. He cried for 20 minutes and then went to sleep around 11:30 p.m., she told police.
Wednesday morning, Javonte drank some juice but didn't eat and slept off and on, Ford said in the hospital interview. Ford said she took a shower and then discovered Javonte wasn't breathing.
After trying CPR, she found a ride to the hospital, police were told. Hospital staff were advised by a witness that Ford and the child were dropped off by Ford's boyfriend.
When Ford left for the hospital, her 7-year-old daughter was at a friend's apartment, reports show.
What police said
Centorame said Ford isn't a suspect in the beating but failed to report it and didn't seek medical attention immediately for the child. He said it's possible the beatings had been going on for weeks.
"It's unknown if an object or fist was used," Centorame said of the pummeling that resulted in Javonte's death. "We're going through cars and the apartment -- hopefully something will turn up."
The emergency room doctor said Javonte had injuries not consistent with a fall, bruises to the left side of his face, right side of his chest, shoulders and middle of his back. He suffered brain damage and was placed on a ventilator before he died, reports show.
Dellick obtained a hospital record that showed the child was seen by a doctor Tuesday for a checkup and his mother said he'd fallen down steps two days before. The doctor noted that the boy had bruises on his forehead.
Javonte's grandmother told police that she saw him April 16 and noticed he had a bruise on his forehead. She saw him again this past Sunday and noticed he had more bruises on his head. The grandmother was told by Ford that Javonte had fallen down steps, police said