RACINE, Wis. — A Wisconsin teen is facing charges of first-degree reckless homicide and child abuse in connection with the death of his 1-month-old baby, authorities said.
According to the Journal Times and the Racine County Eye, Shavale Powell, 17, of Racine, was charged in an adult court Monday, just over a week after his 39-day-old baby was found dead in a LaSalle Street home.
Racine police and rescue crews responded to the home Feb. 14 after receiving a report of an unresponsive infant, according to the newspapers. Authorities arrived to find the baby already dead and a 1-year-old child with a bruised, injured eye, the outlets reported.
Powell and the children’s mother, 18-year-old Javian Clark, told police they had been the baby’s only caregivers the past eight days, authorities said.
Medical examiners later conducted an autopsy on the infant, who had suffered blunt-force injuries to the head, chest and extremities, the Journal Times reported. Officials concluded that the death was a homicide, according to the newspaper.
Powell was arrested and remains jailed on $50,000 bond, authorities said.
Court documents also identified Clark as a co-defendant, according to the Journal Times. She is expected to be charged Tuesday, District Attorney Tricia Hanson told the newspaper.