Kaden Payne died at Springfield Regional Medical Center on Jan. 20 of multiple blunt force trauma, according to a coroner’s report.
Meddock, the boyfriend of Kaden’s mother, was arrested Tuesday by U.S. Marshals. He’s accused of assaulting the toddler and will be arraigned on charges of murder, involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault and child endangering in a common pleas courtroom later this week.
He could face life in prison if convicted, prosecutors said.
Jordan Payne, Kaden’s father, called his son his guardian angel and questioned how anyone could harm a toddler.
“How could you even be that cold-hearted to hurt a baby?” Payne said. “Somebody that couldn’t fight back, somebody that had a whole lot of life.”
The five months between Kaden’s death and the suspect’s arrest were hard for the family, Payne said, but the indictment was the first step in recovering from the loss of his son.
“(Kaden) actually gets to rest now knowing that people cared enough to get justice for him,” the father said.
A group of people at Meddock’s East Cassilly Street home refused to talk to Springfield News-Sun reporters Tuesday.
The child had external and internal injuries, King said.
“There was a combination of bruising and internal injuries that were very severe,” he said.
Police worked for months with the victim’s family, Clark County Children’s Services and the county Child Advocacy Center to put together a case, King said.
The process took time, he added, but resulted in strong evidence.
“One of the most counter-intuitive things we have to explain to (the victim’s family) is if we do our investigation well, it probably isn’t going to be quick,” he said.
Kaden’s father admitted that there were moments it was hard to wait for police and the justice system to make an arrest.
“I’ve had times where I’ve like almost went there, almost acted out about it — I’ve had times where I’ve had crazy thoughts,” he said.
To have an arrest made in connection with Kaden’s death is a relief, Payne said, but it doesn’t bring back his son.
“I got robbed of raising him, playing ball with him and watching him grow up. Every day he started looking like me even more,” the father said.
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