Police arrested a man Sunday in connection with the death of a 4-year-old boy found dead Saturday in the middle of a Texas street, authorities say.
Darriynn Brown, 18, was arrested and charged with kidnapping and theft Sunday. Dallas investigators said additional charges could be filed pending a forensic analysis, the Dallas Police Department announced.
Authorities said they responded to a call around 6:50 a.m. on Saturday about a dead child in the middle of the 7500 block of Saddleridge Drive.
PIO is headed Saddleridge Dr. and Wood Homestead Dr. where a child was found deceased.
— Dallas Police Dept (@DallasPD) May 15, 2021
The boy was found with wounds from an “edged weapon,” police spokesman Albert Martinez said. Martinez also said the boy died in a violent manner, according to Dallas News. The child was later identified by his mother as Cash Gernon, according to WFAA.
This 4y/o boy was found murdered on Saturday am on Saddlerige drive in the Mountain Creek Area in Dallas.
Mom identifies him as Cash Gernon. She says, “Cash was sleeping when he was kidnapped.”
Cash has a twin brother, who mom says, is in state custody now.
Pray for Cash ???? pic.twitter.com/eiZgyvjAtK
— Malini Basu (@MaliniBasu_) May 17, 2021
Gernon’s mother told WFAA Brown broke into the home through the backdoor and kidnapped Gernon while he was sleeping.
Antwainese Square discovered the boy’s body while on a morning walk, according to Fox 4. (RELATED: Babysitter Charged For Killing 1-Year-Old Son Of US Soldier Reportedly Told Police He Used ‘Wrestling-Style Moves’)
“I was taking a walk, coming from the back end of the street. I see an image of what looks like a dog, because we have a lot of loose dogs in the neighborhood. Immediately I call my mom and say, ‘Hey, I think I see a dog,'” Square said. “Then I see it was a child laying there deceased and I called 911 to say it was a kid.”
“That’s when I noticed the baby had ants at the bottom of his feet so I knew he was deceased then” she continued, according to Dallas News. “It was heart-wrenching because this baby could have been no more than 5.”
Martinez reportedly said the child was likely to have been killed around 5 a.m.
“We are shocked, we are very angry about what has happened to this small child,” Martinez told Dallas News.