Police in Marion County, Florida have announced that a 10-year-old boy will be charged with manslaughter. The charges come after an investigation of the June 2016 death of the boy’s 2-year-old cousin. Law enforcement is stating that the death of Journee Blyden was due to head trauma inflicted by her cousin.
According to police, the two children were playing unsupervised in a home with adults present. Police have stated that some of the adults in the home where Journee was killed were uncooperative when questioned. Initially, police were told that Journee fell out of her playpen and sustained the injuries.
Journee was transported to the hospital with severe head trauma and passed away from her injuries a few days later. During an investigation into the toddler’s death, another child told detectives about the 10-year-old’s physical abuse of her and Journee when the three were unsupervised. Police spoke with the boy and he told detectives that he was running while holding the 2-year-old and he fell on the kitchen floor. The 10-year-old stated he then put the child on the counter and he “accidentally” pushed her off the countertop.
The Marion County medical examiner concluded that the injuries Journee received were not consistent with the statement given by the 10-year-old. The medical examiner further informed detectives that Journee’s injuries would have taken excessive force to create and ruled the child’s death as a homicide. A decision was made by the detectives to present the evidence to the prosecutors from the State Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors determined that the charges against the 10-year-old would be appropriate given the injuries the victim sustained and all the facts of the case. The 10-year-old was booked into the Marion County Juvenile Detention Center, where he has been placed on a juvenile hold until his first appearance in court, a hearing on Thursday.
The name of the 10-year-old is not being released because he is a minor. He has been charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child.
Tragically, this is not the first time the family has been involved in the death of a child. The boy’s father, identified as Kendall Blyden, is currently in jail on murder and aggravated child abuse charges. Blyden was arrested in October 2014 in connection with the death of his girlfriend’s 1-year-old son.
