Colorado mother and boyfriend charged with toddler's murder
DENVER -- A woman and her boyfriend have been arrested and charged with the death of the woman's toddler son, reports CBS Denver.
Candice Lampley, 29, and Delonta Crank, 36, are charged with first degree murder in the death of 23-month-old Javin Johnson. According to the station, the couple has also been charged with child abuse.
The child was declared dead Wednesday morning, July 15, after being taken to St. Joseph Hospital. The boy lived at an apartment near the intersection of Franklin Street and 17th Avenue, said the station.
The child was reportedly brought to the hospital on July 8 after sustaining injuries while in the care of both Lampley and Delonta.
"We're not certain that that was the cause of the death. That will be determined by the coroner's office. But that did lead us to two arrests," said Denver police spokeswoman Christine Downs, in a previous CBS Denver report.
Quintaviax Wallace, who is a friend of Lampley and Crank, told the station he didn't know the extent of the child's injuries after he was called to check on the boy, but he knew something was wrong right away.
Wallace said Johnson was in bed with his 9-year-old brother and his lips were purple and he wouldn't wake up.
"So when I turned the lights on I could clearly see that his lips were purple and that his eyes were slightly open," Wallace said.
With St. Joseph Hospital a few blocks away, Wallace said he didn't wait for an ambulance.
"I tried to rush him to the hospital, I'm thinking I still had time to save him," Wallace said. "As I'm running him in I go to the front counter and I'm like, 'He's not responding, he's not responding, what do I do?' ... I gave him to the lady and I ran upstairs with them and they started to put him on the bed and tried bring him back to life," he told CBS Denver.
The child's grandfather, Earl Lampley, said police showed him pictures of the toddler with serious burns on his legs, between his thighs, on his genitals and buttocks.
"I honestly believe that my daughter didn't know the full extent of her baby's injuries," Earl Lampley said, according to the station.
Wallace and Earl Lampley both say that Candice Lampley and Crank told them the boy suffered smoke inhalation from a stove in their apartment. An autopsy is pending in the case.
According to the station, Crank has previously been arrested on suspicion of child abuse in 2007. The details of that case are unclear.
The couple remain in custody without bond.
And Earl Lampley is trying to raise money for his grandson's funeral.
"I don't want to cremate him and burn him again. I want him buried. I want to bury him," he said.