15-Month-Old Boy Allegedly Beaten To Death By Babysitters

A 15-month-old boy has died after being allegedly beaten to death by two babysitters. According to documents obtained by Delaware Online, Chosen Smith purportedly suffered brutal beatings at the hands of Tameka Wright, 22 and Lavar Harris, 37 in the days leading to his death.

The two caregivers had taken the young boy to Delaware hospital where he was pronounced dead. The hospital authorities had noticed that the toddler was covered with bruises and notified the police. Lavar Harris had told police that Chosen had fallen off a futon. According to the 37-year-old man, he had found Chosen with bumps on his forehead and staring vacantly into space.

However, an autopsy would later reveal that Chosen had suffered a head injury which caused him to die from blunt force trauma. The little boy’s skull was fractured. The Daily Mail is reporting that the injury was so severe that it caused a rupturing of blood vessels in his head.

According to court documents, the caregivers admitted to beating the little boy numerous times. On one occasion, Harris had told 22-year-old Tameka Wright that Chosen no longer cried when beaten and instructed her to start hitting him at the back of the head.

Another time, Wright told detectives that her 37-year-old partner picked the boy up by an arm and hit him in the chest. The 22-year-old woman also revealed that Harris had placed the toddler in a cold shower for 15 minutes because he did not want Chosen to fall asleep.

The boy’s mother, who was not named in the court records, revealed that the pair had been watching her son ever since Chosen was a few months old. The woman revealed she paid the babysitters between $40 to $100 for their services and would leave Chosen for days with them. The anonymous woman said she needed a “break away from him,” and dropped him off for a few days. Wright claimed that the child had been with them for two weeks at the time of his death.

Karen DeRasmo of Prevent Child Abuse Delaware cautioned that individuals who left their children with other people needed to be well aware of the risks involved. She disclosed that the lack of a biological tie was an indication that there was no iron-clad commitment towards their protection or safety.

Tameke Wright and Lavar Harris have been charged with first-degree murder by abuse or neglect for the death of Chosen Smith.

They are presently being held on a $100,000 bond.