MIKAI HAMPTON and TYRONE HAMPTON, JR - 18 mo and 3 yo / Accused: Stephan Perebeynos - Fircrest WA

Missing Fircrest boy turns up at hospital with serious injuries

By KOMO Staff Published: May 17, 2012 at 6:01 PM PDT
Last Updated: May 17, 2012 at 11:17 PM PDT



FIRCREST, Wash. -- The search for a missing 2-year-old Fircrest boy ended Thursday night when the boy turned up at Mary Bridge Hospital with serious but non life-threatening injuries.

Police began looking for the boy after an 18-month-old toddler was found severely beaten inside an apartment Thursday afternoon.

Pierce County Det. Ed Troyer said the two boys were in the care of their mother's boyfriend, 28-year-old Stephan V. Perebeynos, at the time. The children's mother has been away for the past four days, receiving medical treatment, investigators said.

Medics responded to the apartment complex in the 1000 block of Panorama Dr. at approximately 1:15 p.m. after Perebeynos called 911 and said he could not awaken the 18-month-old boy. They arrived to find the boy suffering from major head trauma and bruises. He was taken to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in critical condition.

Tyrone Hampton, Jr., who was also supposed to be in Perebeynos' care, was nowhere to be found. When questioned by detectives, Perebeynos claimed the missing 2-year-old boy was kidnapped days ago. He claimed the incident went unreported.

Police later discovered that Perebeynos took Tyrone to a female relative's house earlier Thursday. The woman told police she realized the boy was seriously injured. After Perebeynos left, the woman saw the news coverage about Perebeynos being arrested and took Tyrone to the hospital.

The mother of the children, Heather Berven, arrived at Mary Bridge Hospital Thursday night. She said she was at a mental health facility all week and left her children with Perebeynos.

Berven said doctors told her that her infant son has a severe brain hemorrhage and has only a 50-percent chance of living.

"All I'm doing is going back and forth with my boys and I pray everything's okay," she said.

Berven said Tyrone, who turns three next month, is also in serious pain.

"Has a big bump right here," she said. "Both of his eyes are completely purple and black. He's got a neck brace on right now."

A 7-year-old girl was also in Perebeynos' care during Berven's absence; however, investigators were able to take her into protective custody at a nearby school.

Perebeynos has been booked into jail for investigation of assault of a child in the first degree.

Berven said she feels anger and pain at what Perebeynos allegedly did.

"All I know is, he hurt my babies and I don't care what happens to him," she said.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Search-on-for-missing-boy-after-baby-found-badly-beaten-151973555.html

Missing 3-year-old sibling of beaten toddler found; suspect in custody

Posted: 5:34 p.m. Thursday, May 17, 2012

FIRCREST, Washington — A 3-year-old Fircrest boy who was reported missing after his 18-month-old sibling was found severely beaten Thursday was found and had also suffered injuries, the Pierce County Sheriff's Office said.

Police said the 3-year-old turned up at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma and was taken to the emergency room. The suspect in the case had dropped the child off with a friend or relative and told that person to ignore the child's injuries.

The friend/relative was watching KIRO 7 later on and saw Sheriff's Office spokesman Ed Troyer explaning what had happened, police said. The person then drove the 3-year-old to the hospital and told hospital workers he was the child police were looking for and that he was hurt. Then, the friend/relative left.

The story began when Fircrest Police Department responded to a 911 report of an unconscious child at a home in the 1000 block of Panorama Drive at about 1:15 p.m., the Sheriff's Office said. The call was placed by the child's mother's boyfriend, who said the child would not wake up.

Police and firefighters found an 18-month-old child with major head trauma and brusing on its body, police said. The child was rushed to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in critical condition.

Investigators said the child's mother was away from the home for the last four days receiving medical treatment and was not at the residence when the child was injured.

Fircrest police and Sheriff's detectives immediately took the boyfriend, 28-year-old Stephan V. Perebeynos, into custody. He was booked into the Pierce County Jail for first-degree assault of a child.

Investigators said the mother's two other children, Hampton and a 7-year-old, were also left in their mother's boyfriend's care. Child Protective Services placed the 7-year-old into protective custody, but the 3-year-old couldn't immediately be found. Police said Perebeynos told them the 3-year-old was kidnapped four days ago, but officers said they have since determined that isn't true.

KIRO 7 cameras saw officers checking a car truck and dumpsters when they showed up to the apartment complex.

Perebeynos is in custody, but police are asking the public to report any "suspicious sightings" of him. He is described as white, 6 feet 1 inch tall and 225 pounds with brown eyes and light brown hair, a goatee and mustache. He drives a white four-door Pontiac Grand Am. Anyone who has seen the vehicle between Wednesday and Thursday evening is asked to call the Sheriff's Office.

Watch KIRO 7 Eyewitness News at 11 and kirotv.com for updates.

http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/crime-law/3-year-old-sibling-beaten-toddler-missing-pierce-c/nN8Wk/

I hope someone beats the living cr@p out of this abuser. Sheesh he beat 2 defensive babies. I hope the 18 month old makes it. The 3 year old will be tramatized. I hope this mother isn't handed the children back without supervision. She needs to check out who she leaves her babies with and not just leave them any old boyfriend. They just don't love the children like their own parents.

It's high time Mother's are made to pay for the consequences of their failure to ensure their children are in a safe place. Firstly, expecting someone unrelated to the children to care for 2 toddlers and a 7 year old 24/7 for days on end is the height of ignorance and stupidity. Secondly, I guarantee this mother, like all the others, knew the character of this man was not fit for caring for children. I'm sure he was an aggressive type of guy, not a kind sweet man who loved children and knew how to give them the love and care they needed. These mothers who leave their children with their alpha male type boyfriends know they are taking a risk and do it anyway. The only way to stop it is to hold the mothers equally accountable for the results of their bad decisions.
Only a couple of years ago she was having babies with another man and certainly didn't know this latest boyfriend or his family well enough to leave her children in his care.

TACOMA, Wash. -- It was an emotional day in court on Friday as a father
came face to face with the man prosecutors say severely beat his two
sons.

On Thursday, 18-month-old Mikai Hampton was rushed to Mary
Bridge Hospital after police found the boy with major head trauma and
bruises at a Fircrest apartment. The only adult in the apartment was
28-year-old Stephan V. Perebeynos, who is dating Mikai's mother.
Perebeynos was watching both Mikai and his 2-year-old brother, Tyrone,
while their mother was out of town.

Perebeynos told police that
Tyrone had been kidnapped days earlier, but the boy turned up several
hours later at Mary Bridge Hospital with severe facial bruising and a
broken arm.

Perebeynos was arrested, and on Friday he had his first day in court.

In the last two years, Child Protective Services was called three times to
check in on the welfare of the boys, and now their father is left to
wonder if Thursday's violence could have been avoided.

In court, Tyrone Hamton Sr. shuddered as he learned that neighbors
told police they heard the boys screaming for days.

"Oh man, I can't even say those words, that's incriminating," Hampton said.

Hampton's entire body shook when Perebeynos walked into court for his bail hearing.

"Let's just say as dark as a human can get, that's what I felt in there is," Hampton said.

The mother of the children, Heather Berven, said she left the kids with
Perebeynos while she sought treatment at a mental health facility. She
said she never dreamed her boyfriend would hurt the kids.

"I'm mad," she said. "I'm very angry."

Hampton said he's been worried sick for six weeks. He insists he dropped the
kids off for a visit at Berven's and when he came back to pick them up, they were gone.

"I blame myself," he said. "I was trying to do
the right thing and let the mother do the kids. Also, the system is to
blame here. It should have been avoided, it should not have gotten to this."

Both parents insist they have custody of the kids, and say it was something
they agreed to on their own without the courts.

Documents show that while in Berven's care, Tyrone Jr. showed up to the hospital
with a suspicious injury and CPS was called. CPS officials say they made
several unsuccessful attempts to find the boy before closing the case.

In 2010, CPS was called twice about Berven's behavior.
Those cases were also closed with any action being taken.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Bail-set-at-5-million-for-accused-child-abuser-152117315.html

Tom, the accused is NOT the father!

Stephen Perebeynos is not the father - he is the scum bag boyfriend.

This whole story wreaks of neglect. Why the heck didn't the mother leave the kids with their own father instead of a boyfriend. And there have been other allegations and CPS dropped them cause they couldn't successfully find the kids! They need to be prosecuted along with the mother and boyfriend. What a stupid tragedy. From the article above:

"Documents show that while in Berven's care, Tyrone Jr. showed up to the hospital with a suspicious injury and CPS was called. CPS officials say they made several unsuccessful attempts to find the boy before closing the case.

In 2010, CPS was called twice about Berven's behavior.
Those cases were also closed with any action being taken."

mom_in_il wrote:Tom, the accused is NOT the father!

Stephen Perebeynos is not the father - he is the scum bag boyfriend.

---My bad, mis-read last article. Corrected.