QUINTON YATES - 20 Months (2011)/ Convicted: Father; D.J. Ray Yates - Miami (Hwy 44 - NE corner of state) OK

Posted February 12th, 2011
Oklahoma toddler dies after relentless torture; father charged



D.J. Ray Yates mugshot via the Otawa County Jail

A 20 month old toddler died of atrocious abuse and torture at the hands
of his own father. The toddler was reported to have been brutally
beaten, burned and then murdered in the family’s trailer home. His
father, D.J. Ray Yates, 23, has been charged and Miami, Oklahoma
prosecutors are considering the death penalty in what is considered to
be a heartless and brutal crime against his own toddler son. The baby,
Quinton Yates, was pronounced dead upon arrival to the hospital. Yates
had woken up the baby’s mother, Jessica Schumacher, at 2pm last Thursday
to notify her that he had killed their son. Schumacher then dialed 911,
but it was way too late for the little guy. The toddler reportedly was
severely tortured all over his body, with bruising and burning around
his head and body and died of what court documents are calling “mortal wounds”.
According to The Oklahoman, D.J. Yates has had run-ins with the law before.
In 2007, he was arrested for
plotting to kill a teenager in which he was given a 5 year deferred
sentence, which typically means his sentence would be dismissed after a
successful probation period. Several years later, he had allegedly
violated his probation order so his sentence was then moved to a 10 year
suspended sentence, so if he were to have any more violations, he would
serve 10 years after his probation. Yates in now being charged with
first degree murder for the murder of his own baby.

http://www.imperfectparent.com/topics/2011/02/12/oklahoma-toddler-dies-of-relentless-torture-father-charged/

Life sentence for father charged in toddler's death

Updated July 22, 2011 at 4:55 PM CST

D.J. Ray Yates, 23, of Miami, had plead no contest to first-degree murder. He was ruled guilty in the boy's death by the district judge.

The medical examiner's office says 20 month old Quinton Yates died from blunt head trauma.

Updated February 14, 2011 at 1:20 PM CST: "I am sorry - I don't know what happened." Those were the words of D.J. Yates to a KOAM/Fox 14 photographer this morning.

Yates faced an Ottawa County judge during an arraignment today with his attorney for the first time since the death of his one-year-old son.

Yates is charged with the first degree murder of his own son.

He made his first court appearance Friday but did not have a lawyer at the time.

Today he waived the reading of his charges.

Yates will be back in court later this month.

On Thursday, one year old Quinton Yates was rushed to a hospital after his mother called 911 from the Serenity Trailer Park outside of Miami. The one-year-old baby was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation says there were obvious signs of trauma to the child's body.

Updated February 11, 2011 at 4:40 PM CST by CHANTEE LANS: Emotions run high for Miami, Oklahoma resident Jayme Schumacher.

Her youngest nephew, one and a half year old Quinton Yates, is dead.

"He was just a good kid," Schumacher says. "He was a happy kid. He was very happy and he was really lovable. He would always come up and give everybody hugs and he would call all of us momma and daddy and he loved all of us."

The toddler was rushed from a trailer park in Ottawa County to a Miami hospital after his mother called 911 asking for medical assistance.

Yates was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation says there were obvious signs of trauma to the child's body.

Authorities arrested the child's father, D.J. Yates, 23. Yates was denied bond during his first court appearance and has been charged with first degree murder.

"He was a little rough sometimes but I would never think he would do this to his own son," Schumacher says.

"I actually saw Quinton and it was a tragedy," says Ottawa County District Attorney Quinton Yates. "He was severely beaten, and we're all human, and I have my own son and you can't help but think that pain and all of the trauma that child went through before he died."

Wyant says Quinton Yates is the third baby to die in Ottawa County from abuse in the past three years.

"I'm really, really going to miss him," says Jayme Schumacher, Quinton's aunt.

As Schumaker helps her sister plan for nephew's funeral, D.J. Yates' fate lies in the hands of the courts.

The district attorney says the next step for D.J. Yates is to have another court appearance for his arraignment on Monday.

Updated February 11, 2011 at 11:55 AM CST: D.J. Yates, 24, has been charged with first degree murder in the death of his son, one year old Quinton Yates.

Updated February 10, 2011 at 5:40 PM CST: D.J. Yates, 24, has been arrested on a complaint of murder in today's death of a toddler near Miami, Oklahoma.

According to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections website Yates was convicted in 2009 of conspiracy to commit murder. Court records show Yates received a suspended sentence and was put on probation.

Posted February 10, 2011 at 5:20 PM CST: The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is handling the case and tells us that one-year-old Quinton Yates of Miami died today.

His father is under arrest and being held on a murder complaint. Charges are expected to be filed tomorrow.

Authorities say the child's mother called 911 around 2 p.m. asking for medical assistance.

The baby was taken to Integris Hospital in Miami where he was pronounced dead.

OSBI spokesperson Jessica Brown says there were obvious signs of trauma to the body, but an autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow to determine an exact cause.

The incident happened at the Serenity Trailer Park just southwest of Miami, Oklahoma.

Authorities tell us a couple of other children were in the home and have now been removed from the home.

http://www.koamtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=14009151