FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, April 29, 2024
East Flatbush Man Indicted for Murder of Neighbor’s Three-Year-Old Son
Defendant Allegedly Lured Toddler to Vacant Apartment Before Beating and Drowning Death
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Brooklyn man has been arraigned on an indictment in which he is charged with second-degree murder and kidnapping for the alleged beating and drowning death of a three-year-old boy. The child’s mother had left the boy in the care of the defendant’s stepfather, a next-door neighbor, when the defendant allegedly lured the child into a vacant apartment next door and killed him.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “Denim Brown was an innocent child whose life ended in unthinkable violence, allegedly at the hands of this defendant. We are determined to see that this defendant is held responsible for this crime. Our hearts are with the boy’s mother and loved ones as they grieve this horrific loss.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Kevin James, 29, of Brooklyn. He was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Donald Leo on an indictment in which he is charged with two-counts of second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree manslaughter, first-degree kidnapping, second-degree kidnapping, first-degree assault, and luring a child. The defendant was ordered held without bail and to return to court on June 20, 2024. He faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the top count.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, on March 17, 2024, the mother of three-year-old Denim Brown left him in the care of the defendant’s stepfather. The families live in the same building on New York Avenue in East Flatbush and the stepfather frequently babysat for the boy. At approximately 7 p.m., the defendant was allegedly seen leaving his family’s fourth-floor apartment with Brown.
Furthermore, according to the evidence, when the stepfather realized the boy was missing, he and other family members began to frantically search the building for him. At approximately 9:30 p.m., Brown was found face down in a bathtub full of water inside a vacant apartment down the hall.
The child, who showed signs of being severely beaten, was rushed to Kings County Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Furthermore, according to the investigation, the defendant’s credit card was allegedly discovered inside the vacant apartment near the boy’s body.
An autopsy by the Office of the New York City Medical Examiner concluded that Brown’s cause of death was drowning with a contributing factor of blunt force trauma to the head and body.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Daniel Newcombe, of the District Attorney’s Special Victims Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Olatokunbo Olaniyan, First Deputy Bureau Chief, and Assistant District Attorney Miss Gregory, Bureau Chief.
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An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.