SYRE BRIDGES - 2 yo (11/2011) - Fresno CA

A toddler is dead, and Fresno Police have a lot of questions about what
happened to the child in the moments leading up to his death.

Investigators from both the homicide and child abuse
unit are investigating this suspicious death. But, they will rely on
information from an autopsy to find out what happened to the young boy.
After hours of collecting evidence inside a West Central Fresno
apartment, the crime scene tape is down, but no one answered the door at
the unit where a two year old lived. Neighbors say they were very upset
to hear about the little boy's death.
"It was kinda hard to
stomach, you know, and then coming over here and looking at it with the
crime scene tape, it was disruptive, disruptive," said neighbor Lauren
Connor.
Fresno Police were called out Sunday afternoon to the
Villa Hermosa Apartments. The call was reported as suspicious
circumstances involving a two-year-old. The child was taken to Community
Regional Medical Center and died hours later.
Monday morning,
an autopsy was performed on the little boy at the Fresno County
Coroner's office. By Monday afternoon, Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer
issued a statement saying, "Due to the suspicious nature of this death,
our agency has assigned both homicide and child abuse detectives to
investigate this incident."
Fresno County Child Welfare
Supervisor Anthony Norwood told Action News "We are aware of the child
fatality. The child was not in foster care at the time of his death. We
are investigating along with law enforcement."
Child Protective
Services would not say whether they have been called out to the
residence before and if the child had any prior contact with their
agency.
Neighbors say the complex is filled with mostly happy
kids who play outside often. "There's kids everywhere here, they run in
like packs here, they are out all the time."
The coroner's
office is not releasing the child's name at this time. The cause of
death is pending. Police say no arrests have been made.

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=8422310

Police tape surrounded the 23-month-old boy's apartment Sunday night.
He lived in an apartment complex near McKinley and Marks in Fresno.

Richard and Stephanie
Perkins live nearby. They walked out when an ambulance showed up and
watched the boy get carried out on a stretcher.
"The baby wasn't moving and to see that is scary," Stephanie Perkins said.

The boy was taken to
Community Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. Police
have not released many details but sources tell KSEE 24 News, the boy
had bruises on his face, a bite mark on his leg and obvious signs of
sexual abuse.

Neighbors say the boy lived with his mom and she had a boyfriend who would visit very often.

The Boys death is being
called suspicious. Fresno Police have confirmed homicide and child abuse
detectives have been assigned to the case.

"From what I've heard it
doesn't sound like an accident, I just hope for the best for the family
and I hope something bad happens to the person responsible," Stephanie
Perkins said.
http://www.ksee24.com/news/local/2yo-Death---JYB-133398798.html

A young Fresno boy died from blunt force trauma to his body, according to Fresno Police.

Investigators say Syre Bridges' mother's live-in boyfriend is responsible for the death.
Xavier Christopher Hawkins, 20, is in the Fresno County Jail, facing murder charges for the death of the 2-year-old.
Both Child Protective Services and Fresno police received abuse
allegations against Hawkins. Chief Jerry Dyer said the boy's grandmother
was first to report the abuse, based on second hand information.
CPS and Fresno police officers stopped by to check on the toddler at
least nine times in the past few months. Each time they were not able to
make contact with Emiley Bridges or her son, Syre.
Hawkins is accused of beating, sexually abusing and killing the 2-year-old on Sunday.
"I don't know that there is a penalty that could be given to him that would be good enough," Chief Dyer said.
At a news conference Thursday evening, Chief Dyer said Hawkins was home
alone with the boy the day he died. "It is apparent that the child was
severely beaten and out of respect for the family, I'm not going to go
into the severity of the injuries, other than to say that the injuries
were extensive," Dyer said.
Hawkins lived in a West Central Fresno apartment complex with his girlfriend, Emiley Bridges, Syre's mother, since June.
"Based on the interview with the mother, it's difficult to say how long
this had been going on, what kind of abuse there was, why types of
injuries," Dyer said.
Dyer also said back in September, Emiley Bridges told her mother Syre had bruising around his face.
When the mother reported it to police, they stopped by this apartment, in the first of three visits, but no one was home.
CPS also stopped by several times. "All six attempts we were unable to
locate the family at that point in time, that's why we also requested
the Fresno Police Department to investigate," said CPS director Howard
Himes.
Hawkins, who is on probation for weapons violations, is not the boy's biological father.
Chief Dyer said Emiley Bridges is not facing any criminal charges at
this point. He also said because the reports of abuse were based on
second hand information, investigators did all they could.
In
the meantime, CPS is conducting an internal investigation into how it
handled the abuse allegations. The report is said to be finished by next
week.

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=8427677

Fresno Police said 2-year-old Syre Bridges died Sunday after being
beaten and sexually assaulted by his mother's live-in boyfriend.

Xavier Hawkins, known to his family as Chris, is in the Fresno County Jail tonight facing several charges, including murder.
Hawkins is being defended by his family. They told Action News detectives should investigate Syre's mother for abuse.
But Syre's family said Hawkins should be tortured the way police said Syre was.
More than a dozen family members gathered in the rain Friday evening for a vigil to remember Syre.
"I just can't understand how can a person beat a baby," said an emotional Patricia Heard, Syre's aunt.
Syre, a happy, energetic toddler, died Sunday. Autopsy results said he died from blunt force trauma to the body.
"I don't have Syre, nothing is going to replace Syre," said Patricia Cail, Syre's great-grandmother.
While this family comes to grips with Syre's killing, his accused
murderer, Xavier Hawkins, is being defended by his own aunt and
grandmother. They said Emiley Bridges should be investigated as well.
La Shawna Hall told action news she witnessed Bridges abuse Syre. "I
guess she was getting frustrated, and she was like 'shut up Syre' and
started hitting him," she said.
Bridges told Action News that is
not true. She also said even though Hawkins hit her several times, she
never thought he would hurt her son. "I trusted him," Bridges said. "I
loved him."
That love, she said, is now replaced with hatred.
"He's gonna get what he deserves in jail," Bridges said. "I hate him, he
took half of me."
Bridges and her family grew up with Hawkins.
Her mother, Laverne Cail, said she trusted him. That is until she heard a
second hand account of bruising on Syre's face.
"I thought I really knew him, but I didn't," Cail said.
Nine attempts at checking on Syre by Child Protective Services and Fresno Police were unsuccessful.
Despite what Hawkins' family said about bridges detectives said there
is no doubt they have the right person in custody for Syre's murder.
Syre's family is trying to raise money to pay for his funeral, but they have not been able to set up a memorial account.
They say Bridges plans to move out of this apartment very soon.

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=8428623

Brutality against a little boy: investigators unravel clues in the murder of a child just weeks away from his second birthday. The little boy died last November, and police say his mother's live-in boyfriend is responsible.
Xavier Hawkins is facing murder and child abuse charges, but one charge was dismissed Monday.
Prosecutors presented the first evidence in the case on Monday.
Investigators believe Hawkins was the only adult in the apartment when
the little boy suffered the massive injuries that killed him.
But Hawkins' defense attorney is trying to show the boy's mother may have been there as well.
Syre Bridges lived only 23 months, his life cut short last November by severe abuse.
Three weeks shy of his second birthday, paramedics rushed Syre to the hospital after a 911 call from his mother's boyfriend.
Homicide investigators say Xavier Hawkins also made a call to the boy's mother, Emiley Bridges.
"Xavier told her that Syre was not breathing and the fire department
was there doing CPR," Marcus Gray of the Fresno Police Department
testified Monday.
The boy died from his injuries soon after.
At the hospital, homicide detective Marcus Gray found Syre covered in bruises from head to toe.
"There were a lot. Multiple bruises on the face, multiple bruises on
the arm, the torso, the back, the buttocks area, the legs," Gray said.
Hawkins and Emiley Bridges could only explain a couple of Syre's bruises.
Investigators say Hawkins wouldn't even look at pictures showing the
full extent of the boy's injuries, but Dr. Michael Chambliss had to look
at Syre to perform an autopsy.
He found a couple old bruises, and a lot of new ones.
Chambliss says extreme physical abuse killed Syre, and the abuse happened just before the boy died.
"I'm saying that the injuries that are fatal, he would not have survived for hours," Chambliss said.
Detectives say Emiley Bridges left her son and Hawkins in their Central
Fresno apartment about three hours before the boy died.
But Hawkins' defense attorney says she may have returned.
And, he says, Bridges had a suspicious response when police informed her of Syre's death.
Detectives say there's evidence that Emiley Bridges rode the bus, and shopped at Wal Mart.
Her whereabouts, though, will likely be an issue when Hawkins stands trial.
A judge decided Monday there's enough evidence for Hawkins to face
trial on murder charges, but he dismissed sex abuse charges for a lack
of evidence.
He's due back in court later this month.

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=8577557