Mom Charged For Brutally Beating, Killing Son With House Furniture

KEY POINTS

A 1-year-old child in Ohio was found underneath several large pieces of furniture
He was taken to a hospital but was later pronounced dead
The toddler's 24-year-old mother was arrested for allegedly beating the child and charged with murder

A 24-year-old woman from Canton, Ohio, is facing murder charges after her 17-month-old son died from allegedly being beaten with household furniture Monday.

Officers were responding to an indecent exposure report in the 1900 block of Maple Avenue Northeast shortly before 5 p.m. when they encountered a nude woman walking on the sidewalk, WDTN reported, citing Canton Police Department chief Jack Angelo.

The woman was identified as Mary Guarendi-Walker, WJW reported.

According to Angelo, Guarendi-Walker told officers that her son had been murdered at home. Upon entering the woman's home through an unlocked window, officers discovered a small child beneath several large piles of furniture.

Police said the child, identified by WJW as Kevin Walker Jr., was unconscious and suffering what they believed was severe head and body trauma. The boy was taken to Mercy Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Detectives said they believe the incident was a domestic-related one where the mother assaulted the child with several pieces of household furniture.

Following the incident, Guarendi-Walker was arrested and charged with murder. According to WJW, police also arrested 29-year-old Kevin Walker, the child's father, for obstruction of justice, which was amended to murder Tuesday.

Authorities said an investigation on the incident was ongoing.

A similar incident occurred last week when a woman from New Jersey was charged for repeatedly beating a 9-year-old girl under care, leaving the child barely able to walk.

Prosecutors charged 56-year-old Stephanie Gregory with two counts of second-degree aggravated assault and six counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. She was also charged with one count of third-degree possession of a controlled substance for keeping heroin.

Gregory, who was the legal guardian of the victim and her two siblings, allegedly failed to properly feed the victim and beat her repeatedly with a metal spatula, causing the child to suffer open wounds and welts on her body.

Child welfare officials found the child in an extremely emaciated condition and she could barely walk. She was removed from Gregory's custody and was taken to a hospital, where she was treated.