Long Island Man Charged In Death Of Toddler Faces Judge
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A Nassau County man accused of killing a toddler faced a judge Tuesday morning.
Lord Pardo, 26, said nothing as he was escorted to court from Nassau Police Headquarters in Mineola, 1010 WINS' Mona Rivera reported.
He is charged with second-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend's son, 19-month-old Mason Robinson of New Cassel, police said.
Prosecutors said Pardo was babysitting the toddler at his Uniondale home while the mother was at work. They said he told investigators that Mason had fallen off a bed, took a nap and never woke up.
But investigators said Mason had severe internal bleeding, a fractured skull, broken ribs and other serious internal injuries. By the time doctors tried to save him, he was already dead, CBS2's Janelle Burrell reported.
Police said it was a deliberate act of murder.
"This was no accident that this baby was severely beaten, and those injuries caused his death," Nassau County Acting District Attorney Madeline Singas told reporters, including WCBS 880's Sophia Hall.
"It's clear that the defendant has no soul," said Thomas Krumpter, Nassau's acting police commissioner. "He is truly a monster."
Pardo has no criminal record, and his attorney said the Haitian born factory worker claims the child's death was a tragic accident, that he was jumping on a bed and fell.
"This individual doesn't have any prior criminal record," defense attorney Meir Moza said. "If she had any indication or any suspicion or propensity to harm the baby, obviously the mother would have known about it, and she would not have allowed him to babysit.
"When he fell, according to my client, he fell from the bed and slipped from his hands," Moza said. "He fell in a position that could have caused serious injuries."
At his New Cassel apartment complex the baby's stunned relatives and neighbors called him a joy. His mother is heartbroken over the loss of her only child.
"He was a beautiful baby, I will always say that, a beautiful happy baby," a relative said.
Pardo's relatives were in court during his arraignment and had no comment on the charges he's facing. He was also watching his own 3-week-old baby at the time Mason died, Burrell reported.
Moza said his client had a good relationship with the child's mother.
The mother's cousin, Mary Johnson, said the family is devastated.
"He was a happy baby," Johnson told Rivera. "He was full of joy. He was a lovable baby."
Police said the couple had recently started dating and he had watched the boy a half a dozen times. The mother thought she was leaving her child in safe hands.
Pardo was ordered held on $20 million bond or $10 million cash bail.