A 21-year-old Wisconsin man is behind bars and facing a murder charge for allegedly punching his 2-month-old baby boy to death.
PEOPLE reports that Kenta Evans, 21, of Milwaukee, was visiting the infant, named Jaquerrion Dancer, at the home of the child’s mother, Jessica McNeal, when an altercation broke out, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the Associated Press.
Evans flew into a rage, “accusing [McNeal] of having other men in the house.” When the mother picked up her baby and backed away from him, Evans followed her and began repeatedly punching McNeal with closed fists while she was still holding Jaquerrion, some of the strikes hit the baby.
McNeal’s sister intervened and rushed the small child to a nearby hospital, while Evans allegedly fled the scene.
Baby Jaquerrion suffered multiple skull fractures, cerebral hemorrhaging and extensive retinal hemorrhaging, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. He was pronounced dead later that evening.
According to police, Evans was found hiding inside a closet at his mother’s house, where he was arrested and charged with first degree reckless homicide.
Police say he later admitted to the crime, while his father, Kenta Evans Sr., shared with Fox 6 Now that he is “torn apart, because we lost our grandson.”
He said Evans completely “blanked out.”
During Evans’ first court appearance on Monday, a judge set his cash bond at $20,000, according to Fox 6 (via oxygen.com). A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for June 20.
