Couple due in court after toddler's burning, death

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A man and the mother of a 2-year-old boy are due in court Tuesday in connection with the killing of the toddler, who was reportedly hit, struck with a belt and burned with a hot object.

The child's mother, Lynette Monique Gasper-Washington, 25, and her boyfriend, Rajfik Keating, 24, were charged with aggravated assault injury to a child.

Bond for each was set at $500,000.

According to the couple's charging documents, firefighters were called to an apartment complex on Creek Bend Drive at about 10 p.m. Saturday. Gasper-Washington and Keating were identified as the child's caretakers.

The child, who was found unresponsive, was taken to Southwest Memorial Hermann Hospital with CPR in progress.

In an initial hearing, prosecutors said neighbors told police that they heard the sound of something being thrown against a wall and a slashing sound. An adult's voice and a child screaming soon followed. The pattern went on multiple times between 10 and 30 minutes at a time well before police were called over the weekend.

Police stated Keating told them the boy may have fallen from a top bunk bed but admitted to previously using a belt to discipline the child.

The coroner's report listed the boy's injuries to include abrasions on both ears, bruising on the face, and a bruised and swollen left eye. Medical examiners also observed bruising on the back, chest and legs, as well as hemorrhaging of the kidneys and the rear of the brain.

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