Michigan man grabs 8-month-old by leg and smashes him against table, mother goes for a smoke while child dies

KENT COUNTY, MICHIGAN: A woman allegedly left her baby to die after her boyfriend pulled the eight-month-old out of his crib by grabbing his leg and hit him against objects in the room such as a table and dresser, a court document said.

The court document has revealed the heartbreaking final moments of the baby boy, Josiah Guyton, whose March 4 death was ruled a homicide. Josiah was killed by her mother’s boyfriend and left to die as the duo went into another room of their home to smoke marijuana.

The document indicated that Josiah’s mother, Jada Guyton, saw her boyfriend Jermaine Abron coming out of his room when she returned to her home after a trip to the grocery store on March 4. She reportedly even inquired Guyton after finding the little boy was "gasping” in his crib.

“Ms. Guyton enquired about the noise Josiah was making. Mr. Abron admitted to Ms. Guyton that he had dropped Josiah and Josiah had been crying. Ms. Guyton did not remove Josiah from the crib to check on him or assess why he was making gasping noises. Ms. Guyton left Josiah lying face down gasping and went into another room of the home to smoke marijuana with Mr. Abron,” the record stated.

The official report noted that when Abron left the home ‘abruptly’, Guyton went on to check her son. “...And he was face-down in his crib unresponsive and not breathing around 8:30 pm. It was discovered at this time by Ms. Guyton that Josiah had bruising to his forehead and an abrasion to his nose,” the report mentioned, adding it was then that Guyton called 911 and Josiah was rushed to Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The horrifying details of the case emerged after a petition was filed by Children’s Protective Services last week to take away Josiah's 2-year-old brother Jaden from Guyton and Abron's care. The petition was submitted after police discovered text messages dated from November 2019 through January 2020 in which Guyton and Abron made “multiple references” to “beating (Jaden’s) ass.” Later, Abron also confessed that he and Guyton had “frequently disciplined” 2-year-old Jaden with a belt.

Josiah and Jaden lived with their mom and Abron, who was the legal father of Jaden but not Josiah. The petition submitted last week also demanded to terminate Guyton and Abron’s parental rights to Jaden. The 25-year-old mother, who is three months pregnant with Abron's child, sobbed throughout the hearing about losing her other child.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that Abron, who was denied bond, is in Kent County jail facing charges of open murder and first-degree child abuse after he allegedly confessed to the crime.

“(Abron) gave a full confession and admitted to grabbing Josiah out of his crib by his leg and forcibly hitting Josiah against objects in the room such as a table and dresser,” a CPS worker wrote in a document filed in the Family Division of Kent County Circuit Court. However, Guyton has not been charged in connection with her baby’s murder.