LONG BEACH -- A 26-year-old Long Beach man was arraigned on a charge of child abuse and murder Tuesday in connection with the beating death of his girlfriend's two-year-old son.
Appearing with alleged killer Hector Ernest was the child's mother, 22-year-old Cameo Green, who has been charged with child abuse in the death of her son, Deandre Fitzgerald Green.
Police began their investigation after the couple, who lived in a Long Beach apartment with the toddler, took the child to Long Beach Memorial Medical Center on March 20.
The boy was unconscious and, though emergency room staff worked on him for 45 minutes, he was pronounced dead within less than an hour of arriving at the hospital.
Ernest Jr. was arrested the following day on suspicion of murder. He wasn't formally charged until last month, when Green was also arrested.
The child's father and his family came out shortly after Ernest's arrest and said they had complained about signs of abuse on the two-year-old to Hawthorne Police and Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services officials to no avail.
Ernest is charged with one count each of murder, assault on a child causing death and child abuse. The complaint also Ernest was on probation at the time of his arrest for a 2009 conviction of having a concealed firearm in a vehicle, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Green is charged with one count of child abuse. The complaint further alleges that Green failed to protect the child, resulting in his death, according to the DA's Office.
Prosecutors allege Ernest inflicted the fatal injury on March 20.
If convicted on all counts, Green faces a maximum state prison term of 10 years and Ernest faces the possibility of 25 years to life, authorities said.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty and are scheduled to return to the Long Beach Superior Court for a preliminary hearing setting on May 14.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department jail records show bail was set at $1 million for Green and Ernest is being without bail due to the probation violation.
Appearing with alleged killer Hector Ernest was the child's mother, 22-year-old Cameo Green, who has been charged with child abuse in the death of her son, Deandre Fitzgerald Green.
Police began their investigation after the couple, who lived in a Long Beach apartment with the toddler, took the child to Long Beach Memorial Medical Center on March 20.
The boy was unconscious and, though emergency room staff worked on him for 45 minutes, he was pronounced dead within less than an hour of arriving at the hospital.
Ernest Jr. was arrested the following day on suspicion of murder. He wasn't formally charged until last month, when Green was also arrested.
The child's father and his family came out shortly after Ernest's arrest and said they had complained about signs of abuse on the two-year-old to Hawthorne Police and Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services officials to no avail.
Ernest is charged with one count each of murder, assault on a child causing death and child abuse. The complaint also Ernest was on probation at the time of his arrest for a 2009 conviction of having a concealed firearm in a vehicle, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Green is charged with one count of child abuse. The complaint further alleges that Green failed to protect the child, resulting in his death, according to the DA's Office.
Prosecutors allege Ernest inflicted the fatal injury on March 20.
If convicted on all counts, Green faces a maximum state prison term of 10 years and Ernest faces the possibility of 25 years to life, authorities said.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty and are scheduled to return to the Long Beach Superior Court for a preliminary hearing setting on May 14.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department jail records show bail was set at $1 million for Green and Ernest is being without bail due to the probation violation.
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