CANTON, N.Y. (WWNY) – A Massena couple has been charged with murder for beating a three-year-old child to death.
The toddler's mother, Kaitlin Cyrus, and her boyfriend, Jovannie Vega, both 24, were arrested last November.
A St. Lawrence County grand jury indicted the couple on August 15 on the following charges:
- serious murder
- Second degree murder
- First degree manslaughter
- First degree assault
- Second degree assault
According to court documents, Vega threw the toddler against a bedroom wall and threw him to the floor several times.
Village police said it happened on the morning of November 28, 2023, at the home Vega shared with Cyrus at 16 Francis Street, Lot 44.
The boy, three-year-old Kayden Flowers, suffered a broken leg and arm, liver damage, a brain hemorrhage, severe brain swelling and loss of brain function.
He died two days later at the University of Vermont Medical Center.
Cyrus is accused of allowing Vega to continue physically abusing the child, and allegedly failed to seek medical attention for her son for 48 hours after he was injured, according to court documents.
“I've been on the force for 20 years now, and this was the worst case I've ever seen,” Massena Police Chief Jason Olson said at the time of the arrests.
According to police, the toddler's father lives in Massachusetts.
Vega and Cyrus will be arraigned on the charges in District Court on September 3.
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