AMEEN WASHINGTON - 3 yo/Male - Syracuse NY

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Marcell Washington drowned his 3-year-old son in
the shower Saturday night, put him in bed, and went to a friend's house,
Syracuse police said this afternoon.

Washington fled before police were called at about 11:55 p.m. to his
2546 South Ave. home to investigate a report of an unconscious child.

Investigators determined the toddler, Ameen Washington, had been dead for several hours.

At about 4 a.m. today, Washington surrendered to officers, Syracuse
Police Chief Frank Fowler said at a news conference this afternoon.



He said Washington will be charged with second-degree murder of Ameen
Washington and booked in the Justice Center Jail. He is expected to be
arraigned Monday in City Court.

Fowler said they have interviewed Washington at length and continue
to talk to him. Fowler said it did not appear as though Washington was
on drugs at the time of the killing nor did there appear to be an
ongoing dispute with the baby's mother. Fowler declined to discuss a motive.

"He maliciously caused the death of his own child with his own hands,"
Fowler said. "How do you explain killing a 3-year-old?"

The Onondaga County Medical Examiner has not completed the autopsy,
Fowler said, but preliminary results were consistent with Washington's explanation.

Washington and the boy's mother, whom police declined to name, shared
custody of Ameen, Fowler said, and it was Washington's week to take care of him.

Shortly after killing the boy, Washington left the South Avenue house
and went back to the house of a friend where he had been before. The
friend asked where the little boy was, and Washington started acting
strangely, said department spokesman Tom Connellan. The friend drove
Washington back to the house, and while the friend went inside Washington ran away, Connellan said.

About 4 a.m., Fowler said, Washington's sister brought him to the police department.
He has been in police custody since then.
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2011/11/syracuse_police_seeking_city_m.html

Syracuse, NY - Family and friends expressed shock and dismay as they
filed out of City Court this morning following Marcell Washington's
arraignment on charges he intentionally murdered his 3-year-old son over
the weekend.


Washington, 25, shuffled slowly into court - his eyes cast down at
the floor - where he was arraigned before City Judge James Cecile on a
single count of second-degree murder in the death of his son, Ameen.


Several dozen relatives and friends sat looking on - some crying
openly - during the court appearance that lasted only about one minute.


Cecile ordered Washington held in jail without bail and scheduled a
preliminary conference for Wednesday. The judge assigned lawyer Thomas
Ryan to represent Washington.


The felony complaint filed in court accuses Washington of intentionally killing the child about 9:30 p.m. Saturday.

The court papers indicate Washington held the victim's head and face
under a constant stream of cold water in the shower for 10 minutes,
causing the little boy's death.


The court papers also indicate Washington admitted to police he
committed the crime, but no statement from the defendant or police
reports detailing what he said were provided with the felony complaint
charging Washington with murder.


Members of both Washington's family and the family of the baby's
mother left court together, some offering hugs and words of sympathy to
each other.


Washington's family huddled around the baby's maternal grandmother
when she collapsed to the floor in the hallway outside court as the
families left court.


While most of the relatives declined comment, Washington's aunt,
Noretta Flemmings, said both families were shocked by what happened and
were looking for answers to how Washington could have killed his own
son.


"He loved him. He took good care of him," Flemmings said of
Washington and his relationship with his son. She said her nephew was
not the kind of person to have committed such a crime.


"All we can do is pray that God gives us the answers some way," Flemmings said.


Flemmings said there is no animosity between the two sides of the
family. She said Washington's relatives went to the home of the baby's
mother's relatives Sunday night to share in each others' grief and to
console each other.


Outside the courthouse, Washington's mother, Marcena Davis, sat
talking with relatives and friends for a short time after the court
appearance.


She said she spent Friday babysitting for her grandson. Her son "just
wasn't himself" but there was no sign of what was to happen to the
little boy, she noted.


"It's a loss to everybody," Flemmings said.
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2011/11/both_sides_of_childs_family_ex.html