Authorities determined Tuesday afternoon that a toddler who died at a south Atlanta motel was beaten to death and did not drown in the tub, as his mother’s boyfriend claimed, police said.
Elijah Singleton, 2, had bruises all over his body, and the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the stomach. Atlanta police Lt. Keith Meadows, commander of the homicide unit, said Elijah had “extensive abdominal injuries,” including broken ribs.
Mario Cunningham, 20, the boyfriend of Elijah’s mother, will be charged with murder, along with charges of cruelty to children and giving a false name.
The mother, 23-year-old Gloria Singleton, has been charged with cruelty to children.
Cunningham told police that the boy drowned after being left unsupervised while he was bathing him Monday evening at a Travelodge motel off I-75 and Cleveland Avenue.
An autopsy Tuesday confirmed that the boy did not drown, but police had suspected as much already. Elijah had bruising on his face, neck, chest, legs and back, Meadows said. Some of the bruises were fresh; others were old.
Cunningham told police that he was giving Elijah a bath when he left the bathroom to check on his girlfriend’s other son, Thorpe said. When Cunningham returned, Elijah had fallen in the water and lost consciousness, the boyfriend told police.
Cunningham called Singleton, who had left to go to a store. Singleton returned to the motel room and drove Elijah to South Fulton Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Singleton’s other child, a 4-year-old boy, has been placed in the care of DeKalb County child welfare workers.
It’s not clear why the couple was staying at the hotel; both are from metro Atlanta, said Atlanta police detective J. Thorpe Jr., who is assigned to the case.
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