Brooklyn Man Arraigned After Toddler's Violent Death: Prosecutors

BERGEN BEACH, NY — A man accused of beating his girlfriend's 2-year-old son to death was arraigned on a murder charge Friday in Brooklyn's criminal court, prosecutors announced.

Latrell Lewis, 23, of Crown Heights, stands accused of beating the toddler to death inside his girlfriend's East 68th Street apartment in Bergen Beach, according to District Attorney Eric Gonzalez's office.

"[The boy] was a helpless, defenseless child entrusted by his mother to the defendant’s care while she was at work," Gonzalez said in a statement. "Our hearts are with his mother and loved ones as they grieve this horrific loss."

The first sign of trouble was a call Lewis made to his girlfriend claiming the child had a stomach ache, prosecutors said.

But when an ambulance was summoned to take the boy to the hospital, medics found the young boy's body showed signs of a brutal beating, prosecutors said.

His skull was fractured, his liver damaged, his neck and face were bruised and his head and torso showed signs of blunt force, prosecutors said.

He died at the hospital, prosecutors said.

It wasn't the first violent encounter the little boy suffered in Lewis's care, prosecutors contend.

According to prosecutors, the toddler suffered fractured femur when he was left in Lewis's care in April.

Lewis was held without bail on charges that include murder, manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child, prosecutors said.

He's due back in court on Nov. 17 and could face a life sentence if convicted, court records show.