The mother of a Brooklyn man charged with murder in connection with the death of a 3-year-old has only one explanation for what took place.
Kevin James, 29, has been charged with murder, assault and acting in a manner injurious to a child in connection with the death of Denim Brown, according to the New York Post.
The boy had been left with James’s 66-year-old stepfather by the boy’s mother, Shamanda Brown, the Post quoted law enforcement sources as saying.
“It’s the devil came into my son and did that. That’s not him. I feel horrible,” James’ mother, who the New York Post did not identify, told the newspaper.
“The whole family is taking it hard,” she said. “We have not eaten at all.”
The boy died as a result of “multiple blunt force trauma injuries to the face and body” and drowning, according to the New York City medical examiner’s office.
Meanwhile, James’ mother, 58, said her partner, Michael, was supposed to watch the boy, but did not know he was not in the apartment.
“The apartment opposite to me is empty. Nobody lives there,” she said.
“The door was pulled up, not locked. Kevin took Denim in there. Nobody knew. All this time Michael thought they were in the living room. He didn’t realize there was silence. Kevin took Denim to the empty apartment.”
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She said that the suspect’s brother joined the search for his brother and the boy.
She said James’s brother “saw water at the elevator coming from the apartment. Something just told him to go look in 4G. He turned the knob and it opened. He went in to look around and he saw the baby in the tub.
“He pulled the baby out. He knocked on 4H, telling his younger brother to open the door,” she said. “He rushed in with the baby and started giving him mouth-to-mouth. Michael pushed him away and started doing chest compressions. He thought he could do it better.”
The boy, however, was pronounced dead when he arrived at the hospital.
“When they told me they found Denim and he was unresponsive, I started bawling,” James’s mother said. “I fell to the floor screaming.”
Babysitter’s stepson is charged with murdering 3-year-old Brooklyn boy
Kevin James, 29, allegedly killed little Denim Brown with a fatal blow to the head inside the boy’s family’s apartment in Crown Heights.https://t.co/5xbIuwgD6l
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) March 19, 2024
James’s mother said smoking the synthetic drug K-2 sent her son into a downward spiral.
“He started smoking that thing two years ago. He worked at the Bowery Mission,” she said. “A year and a half ago, they gave him an ultimatum — either go to a program or get fired. He picked the program. When he came back, I really didn’t see a big change. His mental state was not right.”
Neighbor Carmen Deloach said she was surprised at what took place, according to News 12.
“I’ve had problems with them but I never thought he could do something like that. His brother came here and argued with me, what if they attacked me? I never worried about that with Kevin though,” she said,
