Toddler on life support; Queens father held without bail in beating case
A Queens father claims he was drunk when his 2-year-old son was beaten so badly that he ended up on life support at the hospital.
Dayvon Morrison, 30, was arraigned Wednesday morning on charges of attempted murder and assault. He pleaded not guilty and was held without bail.
Morrison apparently said he was drunk and, when he woke up, saw “multiple bruises on the victim’s face, but he did not seek medical attention at the time.”
He said: “He must have hit the victim but he doesn’t remember because he was drunk.”
The beating allegedly took place on the seventh floor of the Manhattan View Hotel, which is now being used as a shelter, on Friday evening.
Instead of getting help from Maliek Williams, Morrison allegedly took the child in a stroller to East Harlem on Saturday morning to drop off her other child.
It was there that witnesses noticed the child’s worrying state and called the police.
Maliek did not receive medical treatment until early Monday morning.
Malik Williams
Police responded to a 911 call near East 102nd Street and Third Avenue around 3 a.m. Monday and found the boy suffering from severe head trauma.
Maliek is on a ventilator at Weill Cornell Presbyterian Hospital in New York with “a blown right pupil, fractured pelvis, laceration to his liver, brain stem damage, multiple brain hemorrhages and brain swelling, among other injuries.”
Cyndy Williams and her son, Maliek.
“They just told me there was nothing more they could do for my baby,” said the boy’s mother, Cyndy Williams.
She posted on social media asking for prayers: “My baby is fighting for his life in the ICU, please I can’t do anything but pray.”
“ACS was involved. I begged ACS. I begged the court,” Williams said. “I had suspicions. I have paper trails. I have messages. All of that. This shouldn’t have happened.”
The Administration for Children’s Services released a statement Wednesday saying, “The safety and well-being of New York City’s children is our top priority. We are investigating this horrific abuse with the New York Police Department and we hope the child makes a full recovery.”
Residents and community leaders plan to gather for a prayer vigil for the toddler.
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