Disturbing new details have emerged in the death investigation of a 1-year-old child, just a day after the Tallahassee Police Department charged a suspect.
According to police, Deric Young, 25, was arrested and charged with murder while engaged in active child abuse and cruelty towards a child.
The newly released affidavit obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat says Young initially denied any wrongdoing during an interview with investigators. Later, after being presented with evidence of the child’s injuries, he broke down in tears and apologized, investigators wrote in their report.
He then, according to court records, admitted to punching the child in the arm and head, even demonstrating the strength in which he did so to officers.
Meanwhile, the mother of the baby, Nickaiya Walker, launched a GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-with-my-baby-funeral.
“Anything will help,” she wrote. “My baby she was murdered she wasn’t ready to leave this earth …I want my baby to leave right … she loved to eat, she was loved by many people, she didn’t deserve this. My baby is gone. Please help me.”
According to police, the child had been left in the care of Young, the boyfriend of the woman hired to babysit the child, the night before the incident.
Young denied losing his temper as a reason for the attack but told officers he smoked cannabis minutes before: “When I smoke, I want to play,” he said, according to police.
He told officers that after he had struck the child, he walked out of the bedroom leaving the child lying on the bed. He returned some time later to listen for a heartbeat. At that point, he took the baby to the living room and asked a relative to call 911.
Young also said he didn’t realize the level of damage his punches would cause the child.
Arianna Otero is the trending and breaking news reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact her via email at AOtero@tallahassee.com and follow her on X: @ari_v_otero.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: TPD: Man charged with murder admitted to punching baby after smoking pot
Reporting by Arianna Otero, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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