A Michigan man has been charged with murdering his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son in Detroit.
Officials said 2-year-old Xavier Jones was taken to a Detroit hospital Wednesday with blunt force trauma injuries to the back of his head and his spine. He died Friday as a result of those injuries, according to authorities.
Police went to the hospital around 11 p.m. Wednesday and arrested 27-year-old Laurence James Powell, they said.
Powell, the boyfriend of the child’s mother, is accused of injuring Jones earlier that day at his home in the 15300 block of Linwood Street on the city’s west side .
Officials initially charged Powell with first-degree child abuse. He was arraigned on that charge Saturday and given a $250,000 bond, cash/surety.
On Tuesday, an additional charge of felony murder was issued. He is expected to be arraigned on that charge Tuesday afternoon at 36th District Court.
Powell is being held at the Wayne County Jail. He must wear a GPS tether, avoid contact with the child’s mother, and agree to home confinement, if released.
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