Calif. couple charged with murder after allegedly burning, beating newborn son
The baby was allegedly malnourished, dehydrated, covered in bruises and burn marks
A California couple has been arrested and charged with inflicting horrible physical abuse on their newborn son, resulting in the infant’s death.
RayRay Darn, 35, and Marilyn Northington, 28, are accused of beating and abusing the 5-week-old boy. The parents were arrested after they rushed the baby to the ER on February 4 when he stopped breathing. At the hospital, a doctor pronounced him dead. The baby was allegedly malnourished, dehydrated, covered in bruises and burn marks, and had several broken bones.
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“When the couple arrived at the emergency room, the baby was seen by a doctor and the doctor pronounced the baby dead,” the DA’s office said in a press release, per PEOPLE.
The baby was suffering from visible injuries, including a broken leg, according to the report.
“A circular mark was present on the baby’s leg where the burn injury occurred,” the release says. “Additionally, the baby appeared severely malnourished.”
On Tuesday, prosecutors in Contra Costa County filed murder charges against the couple, citing the autopsy’s disturbing details:
An autopsy conducted by the Coroner’s Office found the victim had suffered from the following injuries: broken right femur, facial scarring, dehydration and malnourishment, bruising on the top of his right thigh, thermal burns on his nose and right cheek, and thermal burns to his lower part of his body. An internal examination by the Coroner’s Office found internal injuries consisting of seven fractured ribs, bleeding inside his skull and a skull fracture.
Darn and Northington now face murder and felony child abuse and assault charges.
The two allegedly killed their baby “by means of force that to a reasonable person would be likely to produce great bodily injury,” charging documents state, The Mercury News reports.
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When Richmond Police searched the Courtyard Marriott where Darn and Northington had been staying, they found drug paraphernalia including a meth pipe.
The defendants are being held on $2.2 million bail. Darn and Northington’s two other children are reportedly in the custody by Child Protective Services.
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