BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) -
A grand
jury has indicted a man and woman for murder in the death of their 8-year-old
son.
An East
Baton Rouge Parish grand jury Thursday officially charged Michael Robertson and
Lavaughn Riley with first-degree murder in the beating death of Xzayvion Riley.
District Attorney Hillar Moore has not decided whether he will seek the death
penalty if Robertson and Riley are convicted of first-degree murder. The pair
is being held without bond.
Xzayvion
lived with his mother, Lavaughn, at an apartment complex on Coy Avenue. His
dad, Michael Robertson, was visiting when deputies said Lavaughn called for
help on Tuesday, June 12. Xzayvion was taken to the hospital, but did not
survive.
Detectives
said hospital staff counted 56 marks on the little boy's body. The coroner's
office is reporting Xzayvion had more than 60 external signs of recent and past
trauma, which include cuts, bruises and adult size bite marks on his abdomen.
Xzayvion also had an "overwhelming infection" due to blunt force
trauma to the abdomen.
The
autopsy revealed Xzayvion died due to a ruptured intestine caused by blunt
force trauma to the stomach. According to the forensic pathologist, the
injury was potentially treatable, if doctors had seen the victim when he
complained of stomach pains.
EBRSO
said Riley admitted to detectives she and Robertson beat their son, an
allegation Robertson denied. During questioning, Xzayvion's mother said on one
occasion it sounded as if Robertson was throwing their son against the bedroom
wall and she did nothing to intervene.
The victim's
sibling told detectives Robertson beat the child with his closed fist from noon
Monday until Monday evening. Xzayvion allegedly complained of stomach pains and
vomited throughout the night on Monday and was too weak to get out of bed on
Tuesday.
The
sibling also witnessed Michael Robertson bite her 8-year-old brother on the stomach.
The sibling also said she witnessed Robertson bite the child on a regular basis
as a form of discipline. Robertson denied any involvement in his son's
injuries.
Riley's
landlord said Riley was his tenant for four months. He said he is flabbergasted
at what happened and also mentioned the little boy was using a walker a couple
of months ago after he suffered from a broken leg. The sheriff's office said
because no one reported the injury investigators do not know how the broken leg
may have happened.
Xzayvion's
siblings are in state child protective custody.
At
the time of Xzayvion's death, the Louisiana Department of Children and Family
Services had an open and active case with the family. The department had been
involved with the family in the past as a result of reports received.
During its involvement with the family, DCFS provided services that
included, but not limited to, intensive home based services,
protective child care, coordination with community resources, as well
as involvement with the courts.
Copyright
2012 WAFB. All rights
reserved.
Michael Robertson (Source: East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office)
Lavaughn Riley
Xzayvion Riley
