Tyrone Jefferson is charged with capital murder in the death of his two-year-old son. According to the court clerk, Jefferson, who is 24 years old, was having chest pain, and was taken to the jail's clinic, and that is why he was unable to make his court appearance.
Prosecutors say that on Thursday Jefferson was alone with his two-year-old son Jashaun Davis while the child's mother, Jefferson's girlfriend, was at work. Police said Jefferson had claimed his child became unresponsive after a spanking, and he called 911.
Once Jashaun arrived at Memorial Hermann Hospital, the doctors who pronounced him dead told the officers the boy had both old and new bruises, indicating abuse of an ongoing nature. They also said the toddler's skull was fractured.
During questioning, officers say Jefferson admitted to repeatedly striking the two-year-old with a belt, and slapping him, causing his head to hit a wall. That head injury, according to court records, is believed to have been Jashaun's cause of death.
Tyrone Jefferson is being held without bond, and has not been assigned counsel yet. His case has been reset for January 28.
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