Pittsburgh Man Arrested in Homicide of Infant Girl

A Mount Washington man charged with beating a six-month-old infant girl to death is facing homicide charges.

Kenneth Reeves, 29, of Southern Avenue, was arrested by police on Wednesday after being accused of beating the six-month-old daughter of a girlfriend, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The child, Kamero Newton, was on life support until 12:32 p.m. Wednesday at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, when she was pronounced dead by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Reeves was charged with homicide late Wednesday night, according to the Post-Gazette.

The child’s mother, Julie Vojtash, told police that Kamero was sleeping in her crib when Reeves arrived at the house. The Post-Gazette reports, Vojtash then left the child alone with Reeves while she went to check on her sister’s children, whom she was babysitting at the time.

While checking on her sister’s children, Vojtash said Kamero began crying loudly and she rushed to check on her. She said she asked Reeves what happened, to which he said he did not know, according to the Post-Gazette.

The baby lost consciousness and stopped breathing in the mother’s arms, according to TribLive.com. Doctors at Children’s Hospital said Kamero injuries indicated “a recent abusive head trauma,” TribLive.com said.

Reeves has a history of violence toward children, after pleading guilty in September to beating another girlfriend’s 3-year-old son in April 2013. According to police, the boy had bruises on his face, neck, abdomen, arms, buttocks, hips and thighs, TribLive.com said. The website said the three-year-old boy told a social worker that Reeves beat him with a belt.

Reeves was sentenced to one year in an intermediate program and six years of probation after pleading guilty to the abuse.