The boyfriend of a D.C. woman repeatedly punched her 4-year-old child to death, then admitted he left the home to sell marijuana, documents state.
Kamari Zavon Taylor, 4, was found unconscious at his mother's home in the 5600 block of Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue NE Monday at approximately 2 p.m. He was transported to Children's National Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Wednesday, police announced the arrest of 33-year-old Peter Hendy, the young boy's mother's live-in boyfriend.
Charging documents state Taylor's mother left him alone with Hendy Monday just before 11 a.m. and that he was in good health at the time. She told police Hendy called her several times that afternoon, telling her he had to discipline her son after he rode his scooter on the street where he wasn't allowed. He later told police the child was acting like a "smart mouth kid," and told Hendy that he "doesn't have to listen to you, you're not my daddy."
Hendy then punched the child in the abdomen several times on the left side and once to the right. He told police Taylor was fine, that he let him out to ride his bike for about 30 minutes, and that when he returned, Taylor wasn't feeling well so Hendy put him to bed. Hendy told police he then left the child to go sell marijuana for an hour and when he came back, Taylor was unresponsive.
"That's a poor excuse for a human being," Azalia Taylor, the young boy's grandmother said. "He's a coward. [Kamari] has family and love all around him and he always will."
The strikes lacerated Taylor's liver, separating it into three segments, a medical examiner determined. The medical examiner also said it would have been impossible for the child to ride a bike for 45 minutes after sustaining those injuries.
Hendy was arrested Wednesday and charged with first degree murder. A judge denied bond Wednesday.
