MALIK DUFF - 2 yo (2009) - St. Louis MO

A 20-year-old St. Louis man was charged today in connection with the beating death of the child of a girlfriend, police said.

The man -- Brandon A. Whitby, of the 5700 block Helen Street -- was
charged with two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a
child, one count of child abuse and one count of first-degree murder.
Whitby is being held on a $1 million bond.

Police say that Whitby beat Malik Duff, 2, to death over the
weekend. He died at 11:55 a.m. Saturday after he was taken to a
hospital. The autopsy of Malik showed that he had died of blunt-force
trauma, police said.

An investigation found that a loaded handgun and heroin were being
stored within reach of Malik and his 9-month-old brother. The heroin
was stored under a mattress. The gun was inside a toy car, police said.

In addition to killing Malik, Whitby is also accused of beating the 9-month-old child with a belt.

A St. Louis man is accused of beating to death his girlfriend's two
year old boy and abusing another one of her children. Family and
friends of two year old Malik Duff call him an angel- an angel who was
taken way too soon. Malik died on Saturday after the alleged beating.
Police originally called the death 'suspicious.' But when autopsy
results came back Tuesday saying the two year old died of blunt force
head trauma, first degree murder and other charges were filed.

"I can never be the same," said Malik's mother Shamecca Brown. "My baby is my everything," she added.

Now 19 year old Shamecca Brown's everything is gone.Two year old Malik
Duff was murdered police say by Shamecca's boyfriend 20 year old
Brandon Whitby.

"My baby was a good baby. He always smiled, he never was down. You
couldn't even tell when he was sick," explained an emotional Shamecca.

The horrible crime allegedly happened Saturday at a home on Linton in
North City.Shamecca said she had gone to Barnes Jewish Hospital because
she was sick and left the kids with Whitby. But shortly after she got
to Barnes, Shamecca told us she got a call to go next door to
Children's Hospital for Malik. When she got there, doctors told her
Malik was dead.
"He's like we did everything we could do. I'm like no man, no, what are
you trying to say," said a tearful Shamecca.

The tragedy doesn't stop with Malik. Police have also charged Whitby
with child abuse for allegedly beating another of Shamecca's kids, 10
month old Lemarcus, with a belt. That beating also allegedly happened
on Saturday. Lemarcus survived.

And it doesn't end there- Whitby is also charged with two counts of
child endangerment after police found a loaded handgun inside a toy car
in the house and heroin under a mattress.

Family friend Terrasita Young has been among those comforting Shamecca.

Terrasita told us, "It's more than heartbreaking. I've never dealt with emotions like this."

Shamecca is still trying to deal with questions for Whitby.

"I just feel like what made you do it," said Shamecca. "I gotta move on, can't kill myself," she added.

Shamecca says Whitby called the ambulance for both of the boys.

Court documents say Whitby beat Lemarcus, the boy who survived, because
he was screaming. The documents also say the loaded gun and the heroin
were within the reach of both children.

Whitby was jailed on a one million dollar bond.

https://www.courts.mo.gov/casenet/cases/charges.do

0922-CR03926-01 - ST V BRANDON A WHITBY

This information is provided as a service and is not considered an official court record.

Charge/Judgment Description: Murder 1st Degree { Felony A RSMo: 565.020 } Date: 08/01/2009 Code: 1002100 OCN: C2037664 Arresting Agency: ST LOUIS PD DISTRICT 4

Next Charge/Judgment Description: Endangering Welfare Of Child - 1st Degree { Felony C RSMo: 568.045 } Date: 08/01/2009 Code: 2604500 OCN: C2037664 Arresting Agency: ST LOUIS PD DISTRICT 4

Next Charge/Judgment Description: Endangering Welfare Of Child - 1st Degree { Felony C RSMo: 568.045 } Date: 08/01/2009 Code: 2604500 OCN: C2037664 Arresting Agency: ST LOUIS PD DISTRICT 4

Next Charge/Judgment Description: Abuse Of Child { Felony C RSMo: 568.060 } Date: 08/01/2009 Code: 2606300 OCN: C2037664 Arresting Agency: ST LOUIS PD DISTRICT 4

Next Charge/Judgment Description: Endangering Welfare Of Child - 1st Degree { Felony C RSMo: 568.045 } Date: 08/01/2009 Code: 2604500 OCN: C2037664 Arresting Agency: ST LOUIS PD DISTRICT 4

Next Charge/Judgment Description: Endangering Welfare Of Child - 1st Degree { Felony C RSMo: 568.045 } Date: 08/01/2009 Code: 2604500 OCN: C2037664 Arresting Agency: ST LOUIS PD DISTRICT 4

Next Charge/Judgment Description: Abuse Of Child { Felony C RSMo: 568.060 } Date: 08/01/2009 Code: 2606300 OCN: C2037664 Arresting Agency: ST LOUIS PD DISTRICT 4

Next Charge/Judgment Description: Assault 1st Degree - Serious Physical Injury { Felony A RSMo: 565.050 } Date: 08/01/2009 Code: 1301100 OCN: C2037664 Arresting Agency: ST LOUIS P

ST. LOUIS • Brandon A. Whitby, 21, was found
guilty today by a St. Louis jury of beating his girlfriend's
toddler son to death in 2009.

Whitby was found guilty of second-degree murder and child abuse
in the beating death of 2-year-old Malik Duff. Whitby had been
charged with first-degree murder, and the jury acquitted him of
four charges of endangering the welfare of a child, child abuse and
first-degree assault in the beating of the boy's 9-month-old
brother, Lamarcus Stevenson.

The incident happened on Aug. 1, 2009 in the 1100 block of
Linton Avenue, where Whitby lived with the boys' mother, Shamecca
Brown. Inside the apartment, police found heroin stashed under a
mattress and a loaded handgun under the hood of a child's ride-on
car.

Assistant Circuit Attorney Mary Pat Benninger said during
opening arguments that paramedics had gone to the apartment late
that morning to attend to Brown, who was having a medical
emergency. The paramedics later testified they interacted with the
boys, who seemed and were acting normal. Brown left the boys in
Whitby's care. But soon afterward she got a call that the boys had
been taken to the hospital, where Malik was pronounced dead on
arrival. Malik had died of blunt head trauma.

Whitby's attorney, Lyn Ruess, argued that Brown could have
caused the injuries before she left that morning and that she had
never left Whitby alone with her children before.

The jury deliberated about 12 hours Wednesday and today. Whitby
is scheduled to be sentenced April 29
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_b14b0168-565c-11e0-a5c0-00127992bc8b.html