Horribly Sad

Police say they were called to an apartment near Gretna, La., to administer aid to a seemingly unconscious child. The child, Da-Von Lonzo was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said. The medical examiner has ruled the death a homicide. The body had multiple fractures and tears to the rectum, he said.

At first, the 17-year-old suspect, Arnold T. Ross, told detectives that Da-Von fell down the stairs and stopped breathing while he was babysitting him. That story began to unravel, however, when a neighbor told police that there were screams coming from the apartment, according to the sheriff's office.

Police said that Ross now admits that Da-Von began crying while he was watching him, and he "confessed to beating the infant repeatedly. The infant began to defecate on himself, and Ross put his fingers inside the infant's rectum in an attempt to clean up the child."

Under Louisiana law, a 17-year-old can be charged as an adult, according to Col. John Fortunato, spokesman for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. This isn’t Ross’ first brush with the law. His lengthy rap sheet includes arrests on drug-possession charges; obscenity; battery on a correctional officer; three counts of battery on a school teacher; theft; weapons charges; and assault.