Man Indicted in Christmas Eve Death of his Son, 2

YONKERS, NY — Blair Robinson of Yonkers, who is accused of killing his 2-year-old son on Christmas Eve, was arraigned on an indictment Wednesday before Judge Barbara Zambelli.

The investigation is not only into the death of the toddler but also the living conditions in their home, discovered when police went to the apartment following a report from St. John's Riverside Hospital.

Robinson, 25, is charged with:

• one count of Murder in the Second Degree, Depraved Indifference Murder of a Child, a class “A-1” Felony,
• one count of Manslaughter in the First Degree, a class “B” Felony,
• two counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a class “A” Misdemeanor

Robinson walked into the emergency room at St. John’s Riverside Hospital in Yonkers at 8:14 p.m. Dec. 24, 2016, carrying his 2-year-old son. He reported to the staff that the child was not breathing, Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr. said in the announcement.

Hospital personnel observed that the child was lifeless and had no pulse. They were unable to revive the child and he was pronounced dead at 9:25 p.m.

Although it was not readily apparent what caused the child’s death, hospital personnel did notify the Yonkers police that they had observed bruises on his back.

When police went to the victim’s home following the child’s death, they located his mother, Kenya Reed, and they also allege they discovered the dead child's 10-month-old sister in a cold room on a mattress with no sheets, a bottle of curdled milk beside her. The child was dirty and suffering from a terrible diaper rash.

The apartment was filthy and unsanitary and rodent droppings were all over kitchen surfaces. Bugs flew around inside the refrigerator, police said.

The infant was sent to Westchester Medical Center for follow-up care, both parents were interviewed and the investigation continued pending the results of an autopsy. At that time, Robinson minimized his conduct and stated he only hit the child one time on his buttocks.

When the autopsy was conducted by the Westchester County Medical Examiner’s Office, it was determined that Alex died as a result of blunt force trauma to his head and his torso and that he had hemorrhages in his brain and internal organs. Approximately nine marks on his back appeared to have been pattern injuries caused by some kind of instrument that he had been repeatedly struck with.

When the police located Robinson again on Dec. 27, 2016, he admitted to police that he had kicked, whipped and beaten the child in his head and torso earlier in the afternoon of December 24, 2016, and that following the beating he had inflicted, he had taken a nap and then gone to work for about 90 minutes, before finally returning to his house at 44 Maple Ave. to retrieve his son and bring him to the emergency room.

Robinson was arrested following that interview and charged with his son’s homicide.

He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment. He has been remanded without bail to the Westchester County Jail in Valhalla.

If convicted, he faces a possible sentence of 25 years to life in state prison on the most serious charge of murder in the second degree.

Robinson’s next court date is March 28, 2017.

This case is being prosecuted by Second Deputy District Attorney Fredric Green, Chief of the Special Prosecutions Division and Assistant District Attorney Joyce Miller also of the Special Prosecutions Division.