JERAMIAH FARRIS - 9 yo - Fayetteville/ Raleigh NC

FAYETTEVILLE -- Jeramiah Nathaniel Farris was just 2 years old when police say his father beat him so badly that he had to spend the rest of his life in the hospital.

Jeramiah, who turned 9 in October, died last month at WakeMed in Raleigh, prompting police to launch an investigation that could result in new charges against his father.

Harold Nathaniel Farris, 33, was convicted in 2006 of felony child abuse inflicting serious injury in Cumberland County and sentenced to nearly four years in prison, according to state Department of Correction records. Farris was paroled Sept. 27, 2009, according to state prison records.

Fayetteville police launched a new investigation after they were contacted Nov. 9 by the state medical examiner's office and informed of Jeramiah's death, police spokesman Gavin MacRoberts said Tuesday.

WakeMed officials declined to say how long the boy had been a patient at the hospital.

Jeramiah had been living in Raleigh at Hilltop Homes at 2820 Kidd Road, near WakeMed, according to his obituary. Hilltop Homes is a residential treatment center for children with severe developmental and medical disabilities.

The child died Nov. 6 and was transported to the state medical examiner's office in Chapel Hill. The cause of death has not yet been determined, Sharon Artis, a state medical examiner spokeswoman, said Tuesday.

In addition to serving time in prison for abusing his son, Harold Farris was sentenced to probation in 2003 after he was convicted of assault on a female. He served a little over a year in prison after he was convicted in 2003 of burglary and common-law robbery, state records show.

A funeral for Jeramiah was held Nov. 12 at The Door Christian Church in Fayetteville.

His father was not listed in the obituary.

Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/12/07/1694507/police-launch-new-investigation.html#ixzz1fqxC9fff

Father may face more criminal charges after son’s death

Published Fri, Apr 27, 2012 01:48 PM
Modified Fri, Apr 27, 2012 01:49 PM
From staff reports

A nine-year-old boy who had been institutionalized in Raleigh for seven years died of a non-accidental injury that prevented an adequate supply of oxygen to his brain, the state medical examiner’s office reported this week, and now his father might face additional criminal charges.

Jeramiah Nathaniel Farris died in November at Hilltop Homes, a residential center in Raleigh that treats children with severe developmental and medical disabilities. Police say Jeramiah was 2 when his father, Harold Nathaniel Farris, 34, beat him so badly that he would never live outside an institution.

Harold Farris, of Fayetteville, was sentenced to nearly four years in prison after being convicted of felony child abuse in 2006. He now may face more serious charges in light of the autopsy findings, said Fayetteville police spokesman Gavin MacRoberts.

“Detectives investigating the Farris case are aware of the autopsy report,” MacRoberts said. “The case is still open.”

Harold Farris served about a year in prison after he was convicted of felony child abuse inflicting serious injury, according to the state Department of Correction.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/04/27/2029183/father-may-face-more-criminal.html#storylink=cpy