Mother's boyfriend charged with homicide in death of 3-year-old Pennsylvania boy

Credit: inhauscreative / E+ / Getty Images

Credit: inhauscreative / E+ / Getty Images

A Pennsylvania man has been charged with homicide in connection with the death of a 3-year-old boy, WPXI-TV is reporting.

Police said Keith Lilly Jr. is now facing several charges after Mikel Fetterman – who had just turned 3 years old – was taken to Children's Hospital in late March for "life-saving measures," according to a press release from police.

Investigators said someone called for help for an unresponsive child at 1 a.m. March 26.

Lilly originally was arrested April 3 on charges of aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering another person.

According to investigators, the mother said she was sleeping while she left the boy in Lilly’s care the night 911 was called. Lilly is the mother’s boyfriend; they live together in a Valley Royal Court apartment, police said.

Lilly allegedly told officers that Fetterman had fallen off the couch. He initially told police that he had given the boy Tylenol, then found him not breathing before calling 911, authorities said.

Doctors also said this wasn’t the first time Fetterman was abused. They told investigators there were both new and old injuries resulting from physical trauma and suspected sexual abuse.

Fetterman died from his injuries weeks later on April 24.

Doctors told police that Fetterman was covered in bruises and had a skull fracture, brain bleed and fractures all over in various stages of healing.

Lilly is now being charged with the following, according to police documents: criminal homicide, two counts of aggravated assault, one count of endangering the welfare of children, one count of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child with serious bodily injury, one count of recklessly endangering another person, one count of simple possession and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.

The court set no bond due to the criminal homicide charge.

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