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Deceased toddler’s life hard, short, grandfather says

Malechi Wilson is pictured with his then 7-year-old aunt Kyrah Stinson as an infant. Wilson's grandfather said Malechi had a tough life and

Submitted Malechi Wilson is pictured with his then 7-year-old aunt Kyrah Stinson as an infant. Wilson's grandfather said Malechi had a tough life and "fell through the cracks" in the two years he was alive.

Mark Newberry

Denise Stinson

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By Lucas Sullivan, Staff Writer Updated 11:27 PM Saturday, November 14, 2009

DAYTON — Walking up the front steps, his little hand swallowed in his “gumpah’s” clutch, 2-year-old Malechi Wilson teared up when he reached the front door.

Stunned, Derrick Stinson bent over and asked his grandson why he was upset. The toddler said nothing, but his big, watery brown eyes were enough to put a lump in his grandad’s throat.

“It was almost every time we took him back,” said Stinson, referencing the times he returned Malechi to the house of his mother’s boyfriend, Mark Newberry. “He would just cry and cry.’”

Silent nights are hard for Derrick Stinson in the six months since Malechi was killed. His wistful mind replays the bittersweet slide show of his grandson’s short life and death.

There are still many unanswered questions about Malechi’s death on June 9, but Montgomery County Coroner’s office has ruled his death a homicide, stating that he suffered for hours before he died.

Montgomery County Coroner James Davis said blows to Malechi’s abdomen were delivered with such force they ruptured some of his internal organs.

Dayton police Detective Dan Hall led what his supervisor called a “solid” six-month homicide investigation that resulted in the arrests of Malechi’s mother, Denise Stinson, and Newberry, on Oct. 30. But in less than a week Hall’s investigation eroded when a grand jury declined to indict the couple.

The decision left Dayton’s homicide unit “bewildered and disappointed,” said Lt. Patrick Welsh.

Detectives deferred all questions about the grand jury’s decision to Prosecutor Mathias Heck, whose office said all admissible evidence and known witnesses were presented to the grand jury for their review.

Heck’s office declined further comment about the decision, saying it’s an open, ongoing investigation.

Derrick Stinson isn’t sure if his daughter was involved in Malechi’s death.

That’s not what makes for his restless nights — it’s Malechi crying on the front porch of Newberry’s home.

“He had such a hard life and it was so short,” he said. “(My daughter) chose other things over him and he kept falling through the cracks. I miss his little voice. I loved him.”

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