Tacoma man charged with beating, killing child in his care
May 9, 2013, 12:17 PM | Updated: May 10, 2013, 7:43 am
A Tacoma man is now charged with First Degree Murder for the killing of a 3 year old in his care.
Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist says the boy’s mother left her son Terric Davis with her boyfriend, Derrick Myers, 28, when she went to work Tuesday May 7. The boy was fine at the time.
Myers sent her a text message as she was wrapping up her shift, saying the boy had “made a mess of himself” and needed a bath.
When she got home, she found the 3 year old on the bathroom floor complaining his stomach hurt. Terric had vomited and was lethargic.
The mother first thought he was just sick or suffering side effects from some medicine. While Myers went to sleep, the boy’s condition got worse. She rushed him to the hospital, but he was unresponsive by the time they arrived. Terric died a short time later.
A doctor told police the boy had been abused.
An autopsy revealed significant abdominal injuries and extensive internal bleeding, including a lacerated pancreas, a skull fracture, and numerous bruises to the body. The medical examiner determined Terric died from blunt force trauma to the abdomen.
Myers will be arraigned Thursday afternoon in Pierce County Superior Court.
