Melbourne man, 25, charged in death of infant son

A Melbourne man faces a first-degree murder charge in the June 10 death of his 6-week-old son, who suffered, among other trauma, a severe brain injury, according to police.

Edrick Lamar Davis, 25, was arrested Thursday, facing, in addition to the felony murder charge, a charge of aggravated child abuse.

Melbourne Police, in a media release, said patrol officers responded to a request for help at a residence on Mount Carmel Lane at 11:11 a.m. June 10. There, they found an infant who was not breathing. Officers and paramedics performed CPR and transported the baby to Holmes Regional Medical Center, where the boy was pronounced dead.

Davis initially told police that while the baby's mother was in the shower, he fed the child, who fell asleep, and then put the infant down and got into the shower with the child's mother. The parents found the infant unresponsive upon their return to the room 15 to 20 minutes later, they told police, and called 911, giving the child "rescue breaths" until parademics arrived.

After a subsequent autopsy, investigators with the Criminal Investigations Division "were provided evidence of acute and extensive trauma to the child that resulted in his death."

The child's death was determined a homicide by the Brevard County Medical Examiner's Office, who said the child suffered multiple acute internal injuries caused by blunt force trauma, including contusions to the back of his head; brain and ocular nerve hemorrhages; and fractures to the clavicle, tibia, ribs and jawbone.

While those injuries were believed to have occurred in a "forceful and intentional manner just before his death," the medical examiner's office said the child had older rib fractures in the process of healing as well as a neck bruise, "both indicators of prior physical abuse" according to the ME.

According to arrest records, Davis said in an initial interview he "accidentally" struck the child's head on a door frame and then hit the back of the baby's head with his knee to keep him from falling from his arms.

Davis remains in the Brevard County Jail on a no-bond status.

Britt Kennerly is education/breaking news editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Kennerly at 321-917-4744 or bkennerly@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @bybrittkennerly Facebook: /bybrittkennerly

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Melbourne man, 25, charged in death of infant son